


The Way Things Work

by Lovethewinchestersinc4



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: College, Freindship, Mist, Multi, School
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-15
Updated: 2020-08-29
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:08:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 28,421
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23666638
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lovethewinchestersinc4/pseuds/Lovethewinchestersinc4
Summary: Humans get to know the demigods, but not in a cliche way of 'humans meet demigods', just a little more mature. Every chapter is a different story.
Relationships: Annabeth Chase & Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson, Calypso/Leo Valdez, Hazel Levesque/Frank Zhang, Jason Grace/Piper McLean, Nico di Angelo/Will Solace
Comments: 46
Kudos: 279





	1. Charlie

It was one of these hot sunny days in San Francisco when the new girl, Annabeth Chase, moved into their school for the first time. Charlie hated her already. It was super-hot, and everyone looked ugly and sweaty, and then these Annabeth shows around, all new and pretty like the heat did nothing to her. 

All the girls swam around her in curiosity, and all the boys did too, for a different reason. Charlie always thought being the "new girl" was kind of overrated. 

In two, or three days everyone will forget all about her, and everything will be back to normal, she thought to herself at first. The thing is, it didn't. 

Annabeth, the mysterious Annabeth who came from Rode Island and some pretty bad issues (Charlie was sure about the latter) had found herself pretty fast in their school. She found three friends who stuck up in her ass like glue, and a few boys were always to be found around her. 

God damn it, even Mason Shaw, the captain of the football team that was supposed to be Charlie's, strolled around her with his pretty smile and invited her to all the best parties.  
She was smart, like, unbelievably smart and that was despite (according to Annabeth) having dyslexia. 

But because Charlie couldn't stand her, she could see through all of her holes. And there was plenty of them. That girl – something just wasn't right about her, and Charlie was the only one to see it in her school. 

It started in one of their history class, when the teacher spoke about world war two, and said all these things about military tactics Charlie couldn't remember to safe her life. And Annabeth would squirm in her chair when they talked about dead soldiers like she new a thing or two about it in firsthand. 

And then Charlie started to see how Annabeth was always looking behind her shoulder. As if the girl was never safe in the school's halls. 

But Gym was the thing that turned everything into a whole new level – Charlie hated to admit it, but the one time she "accidentally" broke into Annabeth's little corner where she changed her clothes and saw all of her scars (plenty of them), and Charlie couldn't hate the girl anymore. How could she hate a girl whose body was covered in scars and fears? She could apparently, because Annabeth was really good at hiding all of them. 

"I'm sorry," Charlie whispered to her. Annabeth just stood there, with her shirt still in her hands, and a look in her eyes Charlie had hard time figuring out. Then, she shrugged. 

"It's okay, Charlie. These make me who I am. I don't feel sorry for having them." She said. There was no smile on her face, no nothing. She merely stated a fact. Annabeth put on her Gym shirt, but didn't make a move to leave. When the shirt hid all her scars, Charlie felt again like she was talking to a lie. Only she didn't. she couldn't erase what she saw, and Annabeth knew that too. 

"Are you okay? I mean, if you need help, is your family?" Charlie didn't really know how to ask such a thing, but Annabeth was smart enough to understand her.

"it's not my family, Charlie. Please don't worry. You seem like a nice girl to me and although we're not close, I'd ask you to please keep what you saw to yourself." Was all Annabeth said to her.

"I never really liked you Annabeth. But I'm not a cruel person. I heard all these stories of people who said nothing and turned up dead. This isn't right." Charlie said to her. Annabeth smiled. 

"Thank you. I appreciate it. I really do, even though you don't like me. Bet these isn't on my family. I left home when I was seven and lived on the streets. These kinds of things happen when you're out there alone." 

For a moment, Charlie didn't know what to say. The so perfect Annabeth, who was pretty and smart – her big secret – she lived on the streets? 

"You really won't let anybody hate you, won't you?" Charlie asked. There was hint of smile in her face, and Annabeth burst laughing.

"Why would you hate me?" she asked Charlie. 

"Because you're perfect. Your beautiful and smart and everyone like you. It annoyed me to death." Charlie decided to be honest with her. Annabeth smiled. It was a sad smile; one Charlie didn't expect. She felt like it was this smile an old man should smile when he thinks about all the things he's been through and wishes for more time. "I kind of hated you. You're so perfect too, Charlie, you have everything I don't." 

Charlie looked at the floor. "I'm just a normal girl, Annabeth. Nothing special about me." 

"Hey girls! Sweet talk later, you're both late to class!" they both heard the Gym teacher yelling at the them from afar. That minx of a teacher was the worst of Charlie's teachers, who thought she had so much power on her students because she taught them sports. 

Annabeth passed over Charlie in order to get to class. She gave Charlie one, last look before telling her, "it's exactly why I envy you so much." 

*** 

Two weeks after her incident with Annabeth in locker rooms of the Gym, Charlie still hasn't spoke to the girl not one word. She didn't say anything to any teacher too, because honestly, she didn't know what to say. 

"Hey, Charlie. Are you okay? You've been off lately. Spencer and Mason are having a party this Friday. We're all coming. Will you be there?" her friend, Kayla asked her one morning. 

"Yea, sure I'll be there. It's going to be fun. And I'm sorry for being off. Lot's of stress. The tests keep doing that to me." Charlie lied. 

"Great, and you can have your way with Mason finally. You'll do something about it, right?" Kayla asked. Charlie snorted. 

"Please, he's all over the place with Annabeth. I don't stand a chance." 

"Oh my god, you've been so off you didn't even hear? He asked her out the other day and Annabeth told him she already has a boyfriend. Can you believe it? She's here for almost two month and no one ever heard about her said boyfriend. And then poof, she has one." Kayla said. 

Charlie stopped where she was walking. "Mason asked her out, and she said no?" she just had to make sure she heard right.

Kayla nodded her head and all her blond curls jumped with it. "Yep. Said she has a boyfriend. Then everyone started talking about who is the mysterious said boyfriend because no guy in school said it was him. Where have you been? This happened like last week. How could you not hear about it?" Kayla asked. Charlie shook her head in disbelief. 

"God, I don't know. I was all over the place. Had lots to think about. So, Annabeth has a said boyfriend no one knows who he is, and Mason is available?" she asked. 

"Well, I heard Annabeth told Missy that her boyfriend doesn't study here. He's from New York or something." Kayla started walking again. They reached their lockers and pulled out their books. 

"How does a girl from San Francisco gets a guy from New York?" Charlie asked. 

Kayla shrugged. "She did say she's from Rod Island originally. That's way closer than San Francisco. But who cares anyway? What matters is that Mason's free, right?" 

"Right." 

*** 

Charlie was in Mason's house once when they worked on project together last year, but the night of the party it was like she walked into a different place. The couches were already covered in couples making out with each other, and Spencer found a way to shove a DJ post in the middle of the living room like it was no big deal. 

Everywhere she faced, Charlie bumped into someone's shoulder or back or (god help her) face. But she found her way to the kitchen quite easily and from there it wasn't hard to get drunk. 

"Oh! You made it Charlie! I'm so glad!" Kayla yelled to be heard over the music, and she was already half drunk. 

"I told you I'll be here!" Charlie yelled back.

"I know! Mason's over there, but he's kind of all over Annabeth." Kayla yelled and pointed to the guy in question. 

"I thought Annabeth said she didn't want him?" Charlie asked. 

Kayla shrugged her shoulders. "Leave him be! Lets dance!" 

"I hate him!" Charlie yelled over at Kayla. 

"I hate him too!" she yelled and passed over another glass of beer to Charlie's hands. "We should get drunk so you can get over him!" Kayla said as Charlie took a big gulp of her beer. 

"It'll just get us a headache, but fine!" she finished the beer in her glass in one last gulp and put it somewhere on the counter next to so many identical red glasses. She was so ready to have fun, and maybe she would have, if not for Annabeth breaking a beer bottle way to close to Mason's face, and everyone going quiet. Even the music stopped, because Spencer just couldn't help being in a total shock, staring at Annabeth. 

"I told to get the hell away from me, asshole." There was no room for mistakes in her voice. 

She walked out, everyone's shocked faces following her as she left. 

Charlie found Annabeth standing in the closest bus station. It was freaking cold that Friday night, and Charlie noticed Annabeth wore only a long t-shirt and a blue skirt. She must have been freezing, but there was no sign for weakness in Annabeth's face. 

"I don't get why you like him." She told Charlie. 

"I don't get why I like him too. Am I that obvious?" she asked Annabeth. 

Annabeth smiled. That sad smile again that Charlie didn't see since their encounter in the Jim's locker rooms. Charlie started to think that maybe the sad smile was the real one, and the happy one was the fake. 

"Not to him. He's an asshole. Doesn't get the hint. Even when it's not a hint." 

"He's always got what he wanted." Was all Charlie said to her. She didn't know if she was protecting him or not, but it was the truth nonetheless.

"He'll get the biggest slap of all of us when one day he won't." Annabeth wrapped her hands around herself to protect herself from the cold. If not this simple act, Charlie could pass it off as if she didn't feel the cold at all. 

"Did he hurt you?" Charlie asked her. Annabeth looked at Charlie with grey eyes like the storm. "No high school guy can hurt me. I'm more then capable protecting myself after everything I've been through." 

"That's good, I guess." Charlie didn’t know what else to say to her. She sat at the bench, and to her surprised, Annabeth sat beside her. 

"I have a boyfriend. Sometimes when he was an asshole and he made me cry at night because he was stupid, and I just didn't understand – what did I do wrong for him to want another girl instead of me? My friends would tell me that he was just not worth it. But I know Percy. I know him better than I know my own parents, better that I know myself. No amount of stupid, scary things he did made me think he wasn't worth it." Annabeth looked at Charlie. 

"If you think Mason's worth it anyway, you still should give him a shot. Even if he is an asshole. Maybe he's your asshole." She finally said. 

"I don't think he's worth it if he won't get his hands of you when you tell him you don't want him to touch." Charlie said. 

"It's no excuse, but he's drunk. Maybe he'll wake up in the morning and realize he did a stupid mistake. Maybe he won't. I don't know him well enough. I don't know anyone here well enough." Annabeth told her. 

"You have lots of friends here." Charlie was confused. 

"None of them are real. They don't know the real me, they don't know my scars. They just don't understand me." Annabeth whispered. It was a rare moment of weakness Carlie never thought she'll see in Annabeth. The girl was always so collected. 

"I could try to understand you." Charlie said. She really hoped Annabeth could expect the offer because she meant it. As much as Charlie hated her, she also liked her. Which was weird enough to itself. 

"Maybe one day you will." 

*** 

To Charlie's surprise, she and Annabeth became fast friends after their conversation at the bus stop. Annabeth stayed clear of Kayla, but it didn't bother Charlie as much as she thought it would. She found her time with Kayla during school, and after school she hung up with Annabeth a lot. 

They usually did homework together and then just binged movies or ate ice-cream for dinner. Charlie was surprised to find out that none of Annabeth friends from school, Missy and Ella and Betty, were never in Annabeth's home. And the Annabeth that Charlie saw at school was often not the same Annabeth she hung up with in the afternoon. 

She didn't hate Annabeth anymore. Annabeth had way too many layers to just dim as "the perfect girl you hate" but if there was anything to say about these layers that it took Charlie almost three months to figure it out. 

It was one Thursday morning when she entered the school halls, and everything was different. Kayla grabbed Charlie the moment their eyes met and said to her: "Did you hear? Annabeth broke Mason's nose. She's going to be suspended, I think. I heard Mason called her some names and said her boyfriend must be fake or something and then she just punched him in his face and broke his nose." Her eyes where bright like they always were when she spoke about things that excited her. 

"Guess he deserved it." Was all Charlie said. 

Kayla looked surprised. "Are you serious? This is Mason we're talking about. Mason Shaw, the most popular guy at school. The guy you-" 

"Leave it be, Kayla. You yourself said I needed to get over him. So, I did. At least, I'm trying. Besides, if he called her names than he really did deserved that punch. I just can't believe she broke his nose.

Got to be strong for that." Charlie smiled. 

It did seem like Annabeth to break a guy's nose for that. 

Kayla gave her look. "Don't you think she crossed the line?" 

"Do you think she should just let him call her names?" Charlie asked her friend. 

Kayla sighed. "But punch him? Break his nose?" 

"I'm sure she didn't mean to break his nose." Charlie said but it was lie. There was nothing about her that was sure Annabeth didn't mean break his nose. Annabeth had a violent streak in her Charlie had hard time understand what triggered. 

"Still." Kayla lifted her eyebrows as if stating an important point but said nothing else. 

They stopped next to the principal's office like so many other students who wanted to peep in and see. The students made a half circle around the doors, all waiting to see what would happen once the doors would open. 

Only, none of them expected what happened. People yelled "Knife!" or, "They're mad!" and everyone started running around. "Oh my god! Mason has a knife." Kayla whispered. She was in complete shock, frozen in her place. So was Charlie. 

Annabeth fought Mason as if she did a thousand times before. Only, Charlie could swear there was no knife in his hand. His hand – it was just a big, sharp claw. Maybe she was hallucinating? 

But Annabeth pulled out a sword – a sword! – out of no where and it was almost like watching a weird combination of a Harry Potter movie in the medieval times. 

And then she just put her sword through Mason's throat, and he disappeared into ashes. Just like that, poof. 

Mason Shaw, the most popular student in their school, the captain of the football team and the guy who did all the best parties in school – poof. Disappeared into the thin air. 

Everyone screamed. The teachers, the students. But then Annabeth typed on her fingers and said: "It's okay. I punch Mason in the nose, and he got angry. His mom said she's pulling him out of the school. They left and everyone think she was overreacting, but no one questions her." 

Charlie thought the girl was mad. No one can just tell people that something happened and expect them to believe it even when they saw in their eyes something entirely different. No one can just do that. 

But then people just stopped yelling. The principle frowned and scoffed, saying, "Mad woman, this Miss. Shaw." And closed the door to her office behind her. Teachers walked into their class, students chatting in the halls. 

"Wow. Don't you think Mason's mom was totally overreacting?" Kayla said with a surprised face. 

"What?" Charlie just couldn't believe it. Was she the only one going mad? 

*** 

Annabeth caught Charlie in the hall just after everyone went to class and the hall was empty. 

"It didn't work on you. The mist. You saw his claws, didn't you?" she asked. Charlie looked at the blond fierce girl and had nothing to say. She was going mad, she was sure.

As if reading her mind, Annabeth said, "It's fine. You're not going mad. You just saw what everyone else didn't." 

"Is it not the definition of being mad?" Charlie asked. Annabeth laughed.

"Guess there is something special about you after all. And Mason wasn't worth it, that asshole." 

"You killed him." Charlie whispered. Annabeth shrugged her shoulders as if it wasn't a big deal. 

"For now. He'll wake up sooner or later, I'm afraid. They never truly die, the monsters." 

"Monsters." Charlie repeated her. 

"Yea. Monsters." Annabeth's voice was soft and gentle. "You said you wanted to get to know me, Charlie. Now you can."


	2. Josh

No one has ever expected Percy Jackson to go back to Goode High. In all honesty, Josh though it was only the fact that one of the English teachers in the school was his stepdad that he got a ticket back to the privet school. 

Seriously, the guy blew up their music room before freshman even started, and then he disappeared and no one heard a tweet about him in all his summers, every year coming back a little more off then before. But although not hearing anything about him the summer between Junior and senior, he didn't come back until the third month of school. 

And that Percy was a total change. It was something else entirely. The guy was at least eight inches taller, all muscle built like he came back after a reality show or something, a tattoo on his forearm, and the only thing that didn't change about him, Josh though, was his sea green eyes and dark hair. 

Percy stayed clear from most of the students, and although Josh heard how the girls talked about him, the students stayed away from him too mostly. He intimidated everyone too much to try.

The only one who wasn't affected by his scary attitude was Lizzie McCoy, and that was because (in Josh's opinion) she just lacked survival instincts in a whole new level. 

At first, she tried her hardest to get his attention, all into the "bad boy" thing, but although he was nice to her, she didn't get much of progress there. 

And then, one day, everything changed. The couch said he's making Percy the new captain of the swimming team considering he was the best swimmer, and Lizzy just lost it. It was only thing she wanted in school more than Percy, and then he took it too. 

Personally, Josh thought it was hilarious. Most of the students thought so too. After Percy got to be the captain of the swimming team (he was good at being captain as much as he good as swimming and that said a lot) things changed for the better for Percy, unless of course, he liked being alone. 

The other students in the swimming team though the guy was funny and charming, and suddenly everyone wanted to get to know the mysterious Percy Jackson. Josh didn't. The guy blew up the music room, and because he charming everyone just forgot about that?? It wasn't right, in his opinion. 

But Josh couldn't control what happened in his school. He watched from the side how the guy no one talked to turned into one of the most popular students in school in just over six weeks or so.  
He wasn't the only one who thought it wasn’t right – from a completely different reason, Lizzie McCoy thought so too. Josh could see her snarl every time Percy passed them in the halls. He never liked Lizzie McCoy, but he thought they both could benefit their aversion of Percy.

A quick search in the internet gave them a report from the time they were twelve, and Josh couldn't believe what he read. The report said that Percy kidnapped his own mother and then disappeared. But then Lizzy shock her head and said: "I already heard about it. His stepdad was abusive, and Percy's mom was home all along, tied up somehow. She said Percy ran away to some family in Rod Island and her husband just sought an opportunity." 

"How do you know that?" Josh asked her.

"My mom's a reporter. I remember she got nuts when this happened." Lizzie said with pride in her voice. 

"Couldn't you say something earlier, you know, before I read the whole story in a complete shock?" Josh asked with venom in his voice. 

"I forgot about it at first. Reading made me remember." Was all she said. True to Lizzie's words, they found another report that supported what she said. Other than that, they didn't find anything about him that wasn't concerning his adventures at the age of twelve. 

Josh was surprised to read that the guy had been seen in a museum of Greek mythology and just a few days later, in a casino hotel. That Jackson guy was a whole new definition of a bad boy. 

"There's no dirt in him other than that, and that's not really dirt anyway." Josh said. He sat down at the library chair and sighed. 

"I really thought I could get him. Find something dirty about him and make him unpopular again. Then, I'd swamp in and talk to him when no one else will, and he'll totally fall in love with me." Lizzie said. 

"That's just… wrong. I don't think that's how you're supposed to get a guy, you know?" Josh said. Lizzie gave him a hard look. 

"You can't judge me when you're here all the same." 

"Yea, because he literally blew up the music room and no one cares, not because I'm trying to make some plot into getting him to fall in love with me by making sure he has no friends." Josh stated. 

"He blew up the music room?" Lizzie asked surprised. 

"And, you didn't even know. Wonderful, really. Yes, he did." Josh said to her in annoyance. 

"I can't believe it!" she shock her head in disbelief. 

"Yea, neither could I at first-" 

"This is so hot. Like bad boy hot in whole new level. I'm going to tell Dalia. She's going to flip. He so hot, damn it." Lizzie said, excited.

Josh just sat there, looking at her. Was the girl real? Did she hear what she was saying? Josh though people in this school were losing their minds. 

Looks like he can't benefit Lizzie McCoy anyway. 

*** 

To Josh's astonishment, finding out that Percy blew up the music room made more popular than he was before. Which was ridicules, but apparently, rumors spread fast at Goode-high, and soon, everyone talked about it. 

The thing was, Percy insisted it wasn't him anymore, that he's changed, and thus, all the girls liked him even more (besides the girls who use the music room obviously). Apparently, the girls thought it was even hotter now that they knew he was a good boy that turned good. 

This all "Percy did his best to become a better person" was starting to get on Josh's nerves. If anything, Percy was completely oblivious to buzz around him, and that’s just made it even more annoying in Josh's opinion. 

Then, he decided he just couldn't take it anymore. He caught Percy just as school ended, his hand on his tattoo arm, making Percy turn around and look at him. For a moment, there was this feral look on his face that almost Josh let go his arm and run for the hills. As if Percy was really going to hurt him. 

"Hey, man. You scared the crap out of me. Almost punched you in the face. Sorry for that." Percy gave him a crooked smile. He than released his arm from Josh's hold, and although Josh didn't particularly fight him on that, it was super annoying that he did that easily. 

Josh took self-defense classes for four years now. He at least could hope that Percy will have some kind of trouble releasing himself from Josh's hold. 

"Look man, I don't want to fight or anything, but I just wanted to say that it's not cool that you just walk around the school saying this isn't you anymore. I mean, I was there when you hurt that chick and blew up the music room and it was just wrong. And now you come around saying this isn't you, becoming the swimming captain team? Not cool, man." Josh felt brave saying the words no one else ever said. And it made people notice him as they started gathering around him and Percy. 

Josh would lie if he would say he didn't like the attention. 

"Hey, I said this wasn't me anymore. The past is I the past there is nothing you, nor I, could do about it. I'm trying to make up for it, and if you have a problem with me being captain in the swimming team, you're more than welcome to ask to be tested and give it a try your-self." Percy said. Some of his friends around him nodded in approval. 

Josh couldn't understand what it is with people. You do one semi-good thing and suddenly you're a hero? please, if life was easy like that, everyone would be the new Iron Man. 

"I don't want to be in you're stupid swimming team, Percy. I just don't think you deserve the role you got. Must have been because Mr. Blofis is a teacher here." Josh said. He got carried away, knew it wasn't right. Percy was really good at swimming. Josh though it was the only thing he was good at. 

But he was sure that the only reason Percy stayed in Goode-High for so long was for this sole reason. Percy's clutched his jaw. 

"I can assure you; Mr. Blofis gives me no allegations for being here. I worked super-hard to earn what I have. And that must suck, thinking that someone else doesn't deserve something, but unless you're a god, Josh, guess you'll just have to live with it." 

Someone did a "ohhhh" in the crowd. Teenagers acting like they're four. Great. But Josh took four years of self-defense classes. Surely, he can give a punch. 

He fisted his right hand and went for it. Percy dodged his hand without so much as blinking. 

"I thought you don't want a fight. I certainly don't. Give it a rest, Josh." He looked at Josh with a look on his face that said he meant it. Or, wanted the other students to think he meat it. What, the guy who blew up the music room is a saint now? 

Josh tried again to give the guy a punch. The guy caught his hand and twisted it. The shot of pain in his arm was immediate, but Josh didn't make a sound. He should have guessed that Percy would know how to defend himself. He probably was a part of a gang or something in his early teenage years. 

"Let it go, Josh. One last warning." He grinned out. The students already started yelling "Fight! Fight! Fight!" in the circle that was created around them. Josh saw a few teachers going out to check what the hell was going on, Mr. Blofis among them. He wasn't stupid. If push comes to shove, he was sure the English teacher would side his wife's son. 

"This isn't over Jackson." He growled at the guy. He released himself from his hold, although he had feeling that Percy let go of him too. 

"Oh, it's over alright, Josh. I can do far worse things to you than blowing up the music room." The last part was said in low voice, low that only Josh could hear. But for now, it was enough. 

He walked away. 

*** 

"You're going at these the wrong way. You can't just go in and try to beat Percy's ass like that. And you can see the guy's stronger than you." Josh heard Lizzie's voice as he sat at the library again. 

"I thought you thought he was all hot and cute and everything. Aren't you supposed to be on his side?" he asked the girl. Lizzie sighed as if Josh was stupid. 

"I like him. A lot. But he still stole my place at the swimming team and that I definitely don't like." 

"Then test against him. He said he doesn't mind." 

"I don't want to be his enemy like that." 

"Let me get this straight. You don't want to be Percy's enemy in public, but you do want to be his enemy behind his back, all the while saying that you like him?" Josh asked the girl.

Lizzie though about it for a moment. She frowned her forehead in a cute way, but Josh said nothing about it. "Yep. I guess it is what it is." She popped the p in her mouth and gave him bright smile as id it wasn't just messed up.

"You're weird, McCoy. Do you know that?" he asked the girl. 

"And I'm helping you anyway, so I guess you just have to roll with it." 

*** 

Josh wasn't sure what to think about Lizzie's idea. The girl said she heard from one of the girls in the swimming team that Percy claimed to have a girlfriend, a secret he revealed not so long ago. She deemed it the reason why her efforts with the black hair guy didn't go as well as she hoped them to go and had a weird way to change it. 

Lizzie also heard that even his friends don't believe him on his said "girlfriend" thing, all of them passing it as his way to get away with them trying to set him up to Natalie, the cute cheerleader that studied Biology with him.

Lizzie was a partner in the common belief that Percy's girlfriend wasn't real, but Josh knew it only because it easier to believe it than think it to be true is she really was in love with him. And she was happy he invented his so called girlfriend because she didn't want him to want Natalie the cheerleader, although Josh was starting to think that maybe Percy wanting Natalie wasn't as bad as Percy wanting Lizzie.

As he and Lizzie sat at the library (again), she started digging out everything she learned about the invented girlfriend from remorse in school. There wasn't much. Blond hair, grey eyes, cute smile, she lived in San Francisco (what?), and her name was Annabeth. 

"That doesn’t make sense, at all. Why, Annabeth is a strange name to itself, how the hell would he get a girlfriend that lived in San Francisco. That's way too far from New York." Josh said. Lizzie nodded. 

"I know. Probably didn't want to take the risk that the lie would be too close to home. No one could prove him wrong when she's so far away." 

"Then, what are going to do?" Josh asked. Lizzie gave him a smile. It reminded him of a snake. In a bad way. For unknown reason, he thought that was cute too. 

"We are going to prove there's no Annabeth in San Francisco." 

The only problem was, after a quick search, there was an Annabeth in San Francisco. There were three, to be precise. Josh thanked the God that Percy didn't come up with a name like Mary or Sue. Then for sure they had trouble to prove he had no girlfriend in the said city. 

"Okay. One Annabeth is eighty-five, so we can rule her out from our search. We have two more to go." Lizzie mumbled under her lips as she was focused on the screen. 

"This Annabeth is thirty-two. We can rule her out too." Josh pointed at the birth date of the next Annabeth they checked. He was sure the next Annabeth would be something like that too, and it would solve their problem altogether. Here they go, only three Annabeth in San Francisco, none of them in the right age. Unless of course Percy had the kink for older women-

"Shit, Josh. This Annabeth is seventeen," Lizzie blew air out of her lungs in annoyance. "I'm going to check her on Instagram." She mumbled and pulled out her phone from her bag. 

"I was just thinking, forgive me for being completely off the topic, that you can be a journalist like your mother. You're doing great job stoking people." Josh said. 

Lizzie narrowed her eyes at him. "Is that supposed to be compliment or are you saying I'm creepy?" 

"I already said you're weird, if I say you're creepy too, you'll never help me." 

"You're an asshole. I'll take that as complement." She sighed. "…and, I can't find this mysterious Annabeth on Instagram too. What a bitch." 

"So… instead of proving that his lying, we're actually proving he's telling the truth?" Josh asked her, but he already knew the answer to that. Lizzie nodded at him with a grim face. She put her phone at the side of the table and her hand in her hands. 

"What are we going to do?" she asked him. 

Josh shrugged. "I don't know. I guess we could just, give up." 

"I'm far from being a quitter." 

"Is that way you want so bad to be captain of the swimming team?" he asked her. Lizzie gave him a look and sighed between her hands. 

"No. I just want to be taken seriously. I think I overreacted with wanting Percy the first few months he was here, and now everyone thinks I'm this stupid mean girl no one likes." 

"I like you." Josh had no idea what possessed him to say it. 

"Only because I'm helping you. Why do you want to take Percy down so much? Are you jealous of him or something? I mean, you're not even using the music room." 

Josh didn't know the answer to that. 

"I guess we both were overreacting with this whole Percy situation we had?" he asked, but it wasn't really a question. Lizzie answered, nonetheless.

"I guess." 

"Friends, then?" Josh asked. He had no idea why he did it, considering he and Lizzie were never close, but it felt like the right thing to say so he said it anyway. Lizzie smiled at him. It wasn't the smile he saw when she was plotting something ridiculous, but a real, honest smile. He liked it. 

"Friends." 

*** 

After their day at the library, Josh stopped focusing on Percy. Well, he did focus on him at night, when he was thinking about the things Percy was so kind to say in their almost-fight the day in the yard. 

He told him he could far more worse things to him than blowing up the music room, and Josh didn't doubt he meant it. But would the guy follow through a threat that harsh? 

He wasn't sure, but he still stayed away from him in school. Percy didn't spear him a second glass after that day, and even though it annoyed Josh that Percy thought him to be beneath him like that, he had no qualms for charging into a fight with him. At least not now. 

But then there was one day that made Josh realize that Percy wasn't one to mingle with just like that. It was the day a car pulled out in the parking lot of the school and sweet cute blond strode out of. She wore a white simple t-shirt and blue jeans, but even looking that simple made her look hot. 

Josh wasn't the only one who though that way, he soon saw one Percy's best friends, David, approaching her and started talking to her. He touched lightly her hair, saying pretty things he didn't really mean but hoped were enough to get into her pennies. If the girl fell to his charms, Josh couldn't see it. Her face was blank sheet. 

"David! What the hell are you doing talking to my girl like that?" No one could mistake Percy's voice with someone else. He was at the other side of the parking lot, just going out of the school's building, and there was no way he heard what David said to the girl, but if Josh knew enough without hearing anything, he knew Percy knew too. 

"Talking like what? You don't know what I said!" David yelled to his friend, but there was a hint of a smile on his face. 

"I know enough." It was almost like an animalistic growl, in Josh's opinion, and David heard that too, because his smile faltered. 

"Don't be hard on him Seaweed-brain. I'd break his face anyway if he touched me again." The girl said sweetly. Her voice was a complete contrast to the content of her words. 

"I know you would, Wise Girl. Can you blame me for me still wanting to kick his ass?" 

"Hey! I thought we were friends?" David's voice was heard in the middle of the conversation. 

"Doesn't mean I won't kick your ass for wanting my girlfriend, David." 

"Your girlfriend? You mean you were telling the truth?" David looked sincerely surprised. 

"Why would I lie about it?" in a complete opposite of his friend, Percy looked sincerely surprised. 

"I don't know…" David looked like he was in a loss of words for moments. "We all thought it was because you just didn't want to date Natalie but didn't want to hurt her feelings." 

His girlfriend (Annabeth?) burst out laughing. "You thought he was lying about having a girlfriend, so he won't have to have girlfriend?" her eyes were tearing. Percy didn't look amused. 

"Are you happy to go, Wise Girl? I don't have all day." 

"Yea, yea. Just wait until Jason hears about it! This is gold!" she kept laughing as she entered the car. 

"Thanks man. Really." Percy shock his head to his friend. 

"Sorry?" David asked. 

"Sorry my ass. You owe me, man." 

And they drove off, leaving all of Percy's friends in shock. 

Josh found Lizzie in the music room. 

"I heard he really does have a girlfriend. We're so stupid." She whispered. 

Josh shrugged. "You should have seen his friend, David. Never in my life have I seen him that embarrassed. It was funny." 

"God, I'm so stupid. All this time that I wasted on him." Lizzie ignored Josh's words about David. 

"You're not stupid." 

"I made fun of myself the first few months. Admit it." She demanded. 

Josh sighed. "No one cares about that anymore. Trust me about it." 

"I care about that." 

"Well, it doesn't matter. It's in the past. If it makes you feel better, I'm all about going on ice cream together. Isn't that what girls do when they're depressed?" Josh asked. He was just trying to make her feel better, but he kind of dug his own grave. 

"Are you asking me on a date?" Lizzie asked. That was blunt. He didn't expect it. He should have, considering Lizzie McCoy was all about being blunt. Josh felt his cheeks getting warmer. 

"Do you… I mean, only if it's- would you like it to be a date?" he finally asked. 

"Pick me up at eight, asshole."


	3. Chapter 3

"Don't waste your time on Piper McLean." Kary said to her best-friend, Larry. She was kind of having a crash on Larry since they both started Junior, and then this Piper McLean shows up at Senior and just ruins everything. 

Larry. Like all the other boys in the school, were star struck by the beautiful girl, and Kary just hated her. People can't just show up and make everybody fall in love them. It just wasn't fair.  
Kary spent time and effort into her cause – Larry, and Piper did nothing but talk to him the school's halls, and that's only because she's nice. Not because she likes him or anything, Kary was sure. 

Piper didn't set up everything so they'd meet at the party, and didn't set up everything to meet him "randomly" in the dinner just the two of them, she didn't set up everything so they'd be a date in Home Coming, so why was Larry so in love with a girl that barely gave him the time of the day, instead with his best friend Kary? 

The worst thing was that at first, Kary thought everyone liked Piper because she's the daughter of a famous actor. But then Piper said once she's not living with her dad in a huge fancy house, and she's trying to be in touch with him, but it doesn't always work, and she defiantly doesn’t know his famous friends. But the boys who liked girls still wanted her, and the girls who like girls wanted her too.  
So, Piper acted as if she was oblivious to it. She was nice to everyone sure, and she knew people liked her – you must be super stupid to not notice it, but Kary wasn't sure she realized to what extended people liked her. 

If she did, she was great at making it look like she didn't or passing it off like they wanted to befriend her for her father's status and acted as if it wasn't the deal.  
In short cut – Piper was just nice to everyone. 

"I'm not wasting my time on Piper, Kary, I know she's the one." Larry said. His eyes were still locked on Piper who stood at the other side of the hall. 

Kary snorted. "The one. Please. It's not like you're going to get marry tomorrow." 

Larry didn't even spear Kary another glance before ending their small conversation by going to meet Piper. Gosh, Kary hated her guts. She hoped Piper could see her hate every time she looked at her. 

"Hey, Piper. What's up?" Kary heard him tell her. 

"Cool. You okay?" Piper put on a sweet smile. Kary wanted to slap it off her face. 

"Yea, I'm fine. Look, I was thinking, there's a really cool dinner that's called 'Mama's Chicken' and it has the best food ever, and a great chicken. I could take there if you want to." Larry said, his cute, nervous smile shown on his face. 

There were times, it felt like long ago to Kary, that this cute nervous smile was all hers. 

"Oh, I ate there once with a friend. It was great, although I'm vegetarian, so I didn't eat any of the meat. Anyway, I'd love to go somewhere else. We can go all of us as a group." Piper said with a smile. She looked at her friend who nodded and then looked back at Larry. 

Kary knew she was supposed to feel sorry for Larry who totally invited her on a date and got blown off, but she almost choked from air hearing he invited her to a meat restaurant when she's a vegetarian. 

This was gold, really. Kary would laugh her ass right there if it wasn't so rude. 

"Oh, sure. That's sounds cool. We'll be in touch then?" Larry mumbled, his cheeks red from embarrassment.

Kary never saw Larry embarrassed before. She was kind of happy though. If he's embarrassed enough, maybe he'll finally let go of his stupid crash on Piper. 

"Great." Piper said, and then she and her friend strode of to class, leaving Larry behind looking like a grown-up baby. 

"So, are you and Piper getting married? Should I buy a dress?" Kary couldn't help taunting him. Larry gave her a look. 

"Shut up." 

"Wow. Vary mature." Kary said to him. Was that all he could come up with? Kary would love a good a fight. She's wanted to fight him since the moment his eyes landed on Piper and it was like he drank some kind of love potion. 

"You're not very mature yourself you know. You could just say something like, it's okay Larry, next time. You know, that's what friends do. They're supportive of each other." Larry said. His gaze was still stuck on Piper's back, his eyes dreamy. 

Kary wanted to punch him in his face. She wanted to punch Piper too. Maybe she could just, put both in an arena and punch them at the same. They would fall to the ground together in a slow motion, Piper's nose bloody and Larry's nose smashed into his face… oh, her fantasies. Sometimes Kary was said she couldn't raise a finger at anyone without hurting herself. 

And it's not like Larry was supportive of her, right? Kary was dealing with a broken heart and a fire hatred to stupid Piper, and all he could see was himself. 

Pity Kary didn't have the courage to say it to his face. She was always a cowered. 

She set them up to a random date in a dinner, and made him invite her to Home Coming, but in Larry's eyes, they were always just good friends and Kary didn't have the courage to tell him she wanted him differently. 

Maybe if she had, Larry was spoken for by now, and he would have never wanted Piper because he had Kary. 

"Yea, well. I'm supportive. I'll be your bridesmaid. Or the groom's-maid, really." Kary settled for saying instead. She twisted her nose thinking about the possibility of being a bridesmaid to Piper McLean. Gross.

"Right. We'll talk when you get over yourself. I'm going to class. Have fun." Larry said angrily. 

He didn’t have the right to be angry! That asshole. The whole school was in love with the beautiful Piper McLean. He must have known it won't be easy to get her. If anyone had the right to be angry, it was only Kary. 

*** 

At lunch, Kary still didn't see Larry anywhere around. She sat with a god friend of hers, Mel, who always used to taunt Kary with the song:  
"Kary and Larry are sitting on a tree," and used to laugh it off that their names rhymed. Kary used to hate that, but since Piper arrived into their school and Larry was smitten by her, Mel's taunting stopped abruptly. 

Now Kary missed it. Just a little bit. She'll never admit it, though. 

But, to Kary's delight, Mel too hated Piper. Not from the same reasons (thank the gods for that) but still it was fun to hate her together when Larry wasn't there to be offended as if the girls said something horrible about the love of his life. 

As if. 

"Oh, god, I hate how she's just – not trying to do fucking anything and she's just so perfect. I mean look at her skin! Spotless! And her hair is just perfect. I bet she doesn't even go to a tanning salon. Bet it's all natural. Gees I hate her." Mel mumbled as the two sat in their table and watched Piper as she walked into the cafeteria. 

The worst part was, Piper was the queen of the school, and she didn't even act like it. She for sure was going to be named queen of the prom, and that was the main reason why Mel hated her looks so much. 

Like Kary, who worked her ass off to do everything in power to make Larry see he liked her, Mel worked her ass off to become queen prom. 

"Here's to another thing Piper McLean is stealing from us." Mel said. 

"Did you know, I heard Piper is a vegetarian. I wish I could put meat in her plate just to see if she'll cry." Kary said. she was half joking; she really didn't mean that. 

She wouldn't be brave enough to do it anyway. She was sure Mel understood that. She was wrong. 

"That's a brilliant idea. We're going to do it." 

Kary gave her friend a look. "You know… I didn't really mean that, I mean, this is cruel. On my head it's fun sure, but-" 

"If it's fun in your head, it's fun outside of it too. It's your secret desires and all that shit." Mel said. she took a sip on her apple juice and looked at Piper as she stood in the line to the food. 

A couple of guys let her bypass them so she could take her food first. 

"Screw her! Did you see it?" Mel asked. 

"Well, yea. It happens all the time." Kary shrugged her shoulders. It did happen all the time. Once, when she stood with Larry in the line – on Pizza day, no less – he let Piper bypass them and Kary couldn't resist and slapped him on his shoulder. 

Larry made that face as if he was hurt that she was mean to him, and then, Piper the hero looked at them and said, "It's okay Larry. I don't mind standing like everybody else. You know I'm not that different. And I'm not a princess or whatever." And just kept standing behind them. 

Larry would mumble an "Of course," and then start talking to her as if Kary wasn't even standing there. 

"I'm going to do it. You're going to help." Mel said. she had this determined face that Kary used to like and now she wasn't sure. 

Sure, she'd love to see Piper cry for once, because her heart was broken and she felt mean like that, but not on the expense of everybody in school hating her. 

"Everyone will hate us, Mel. It's not worth it. I'm fine with just imaging it in my head." Kary told her friend. Mel looked at her. 

"Maybe they'll say so, but deep down, at least some of them will enjoy it. You can be sure we're not the only ones in school that hate Miss Perfect here." 

"Yea, well, I'm not doing it. Gosh, I don't know why I said that." 

"Because, you want to do it." 

"No. I said I wished I could. I for sure would enjoy it. But I didn't mean actually doing it." Kary gave up on her food and put her plate aside. "Mel. This is stupid. I hate her because-" she sighed. How could she say it? 

Again, Kary just didn’t have the courage to. 

"I know." Mel said. 

"So, if she'll cry, all these boys who like her will just be smitten even more." Kary whispered. 

"I'll still enjoy it." Mel shrugged. 

"Me too. But the aftermath? Not worth it."

"You're a party popper." Mel smiled at Kary. 

"I'm smart. That's what I am. And not that impulsive." Was all Kary said as the two went out of the cafeteria. 

"But I did laugh when Larry tried to invite Piper to a date and then she said they could all go as a group. That was nice. You should have seen his face." Kary said with a hint of smile starting to grow.

"Oh, I wish I've seen it. I wish I had." 

*** 

They didn't put meat in Piper's food. Mel said Kary was a coward. That they totally should have. Kary had to settle again for watching Piper from afar with burning hatred. 

But just a few days later, a blessing came upon them. Piper took seriously into Larry's invite to a restaurant, and she also took seriously into inviting her friends too. 

She invited Kary as well, considering she knew Kary and Larry were close, even though she didn't know the two haven't spoken in almost a week. 

They went to a nice, clean restaurant down-town that served lots of vegetarian food and didn't even used the same tools to make them, the reason to why Piper liked it so much. Of course, Piper would choose the restaurant. 

But she said that everyone will have there something to eat, because they sold everything out of everything – and everyone were so happy that Piper just though of everyone when she picked it. 

She was so… 

Considerate.

Kary wanted to slap her and all her friends again. 

But Larry still haven't spoken to her, Kary didn't want to sit in a restaurant with her best friend not talking to her. So, she gave up on her ego. This once. 

"Larry, I'm really sorry about that day. I was just super angry at something." She said to him when they met outside the dinner. 

"I figured. I was angry too that it didn't work the way I wanted it to." Larry sighed. 

"So… we're good?" Kary asked. Larry nodded. 

"What were you so angry about anyway?" he asked her. 

Kary shrugged. "Nothing. Really. I don't even remember anymore. Must have been something really stupid anyway." She mumbled under her coat. 

"Oh, okay, I guess." Larry said. 

The two entered into the dinner with a weird silence stretching between them. Kary wasn't sure if it was uncomfortable, maybe just a little bit embarrassing.

Piper and her friends were already sitting there, and next to Piper, an unfamiliar guy. 

And damn, crash or no crash, Kary could stare at him and probably drool over him if she didn't have to move and sit and talk and do other human things. 

He was masculine, with blond hair and blue eyes, his face so symmetrical it was like he just got pulled out of a movie. he had glasses, but they just made him cuter. 

Like a hot dorky guy. 

"Hey guys! I'm so glad you came! Come on and sit with us." Piper smiled at the two. Kary slide into the bench and set next to Charlotte, one of Piper's friends, who were staring shamelessly at the new guy.

Larry moved into the bench after Kary and set by her right. 

"Guys, I'm so happy you all came. Larry this was a great idea, us hanging out together after school." Piper said with a bright smile on her face. 

"Thanks." Larry mumbled. His cheeks reddened again, only a little. 

"Anyway, were all good friends, so I thought you mind I'd bring in my boyfriend, Jason." Piper said. she looked at all of them with question in her eyes like she meant it. 

But what good does it do? If Kary would say, "Yes, it bothers us," it's not like Piper would kick him out after he already arrived. 

But Gees, it defiantly didn’t bother her. In fact, she was screaming from inside. 

Jason might me hot, but the fact was Piper was always spoken for just made Kary's butterfly's fly. She saw how Larry's, and another few boys faces turned to stone. 

Kary put on her sweetest smile ever. 

"Of course we don't mind!" 

*** 

The next day, Kary could almost stroll in the while skipping from happiness. She found Mel smoking a cigarette behind the school at lunch break, after having all day listening to Larry renting about him being stupid. 

"I don't hate Piper McLean anymore. In fact, I think I like her." She told her friend with a bright smile. 

Mel turned off her cigarette. "You? You like Piper?" 

"Yep." Kary smile. Mel rolled her eyes. 

"What changed your mind? Did you find Miss Perfect is saving animals too or something?" 

"No, I discovered something amazing. All this time that time Larry wanted her, I hated her for nothing. I told you we all went to that dinner yesterday, didn't I?" Kary asked her. 

Mel picked up her bag from the ground and took another cigarette out of it. Kary dropped it from her hand. 

"Hey!" Mel yelled. 

"Focus, Mel! Focus!" Kary yelled back. Mel gave Kary a look that could kill if her eyes had super-powers. 

"What?" she asked.

"I don't hate Piper McLean, because she has a boyfriend."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know if you want more :)


	4. Tate

It took Tate sweat and tears to get into medicine study. He worked his ass to be the best in the student in the course, and to be loved by all of the teachers. 

Anyone could imagine how angry he must have been, to find out that in his second course, Will Solace joined late, after skipping the fist course for already knowing it, and without even twitching eyebrow, became the best in class. 

And the most beloved one too. The teachers loved him for being so smart and always saying the right thing but still being so modest, like he had some special gift for medicine (as if), and all the other students in the course where just as crazy about him. 

Will was – he was complicated – some odd mixture, but he was bubbly and shy at the time, Tate couldn't explain how. 

But the girls where crazy on the blond, future hot doctor with the shiny smile that bubbled "cute" things, Tate heard them say once. 

And all the boys loved how he was nice to everyone and understood them so well. 

They played basketball together, and he played his guitar in the evenings and all the girls would look at him with shiny eyes while the boys joined in, singing with him. 

Tate couldn't help but feel as if Will stole something special from him that was supposed to be only his. 

And if that wasn't enough, Will was so nice to him it made him sick. He didn't think Will did it on purpose, really the boy was just nice like that, but it happened non the less.

Once, they had a project together on bacteria and Tate got his grade just a little lower than Will's and Will took one look at his grade and went to the teacher. 

He argued with him for at least twenty minutes that it wasn't right to give them two different grades for the same work they did together, and the teacher said,   
"Fine, Mr. Solace, I don't have a problem to lower your grade so it would match Mr. Harrington's grade." 

And Will just made peace with it because it was the right thing to do. 

Tate had no shame admitting that if the situation was opposite, he would probably just gloat at the fact that Will got a lower grade, but then it just made Tate angrier that somehow Will again managed to be better than him without even trying. 

And then, a girl Tate really liked, Poppy started hanging out with Will all the time. Every time Tate caught Will in the halls or in the yard with some of his friends from the course, Poppy was always between them, batting her eyelashes and making her pretty dark hair move in the wind like she was filming an iconic scene on the titanic or something. 

It just made Tate loath Will more. 

Once, he joined the conversation just to see what they were talking about. He thought maybe about one of the projects in class or even a party, but then, Poppy saw him, and he eyes turned big. 

"Have you heard, Tate?" she asked. Heard what? 

"Tamara from our course. They say she's dead. They think it's a murder. Can you believe it?" Poppy asked. 

"Tamara is dead?" Tate was shocked. Obviously, this was not something that happened a lot. 

"Yea. Will and her roommate found her in the bathroom. Will tried to save her but it was too late." Poppy looked at Will with sad eyes. 

Will truly looked heartbroken. As much as Tate didn't like the guy, he was sure seeing a dead body of a friend was hard enough that he felt sorry for him. But then Poppy put her small hand on his shoulder and said, "You're a hero, Will." 

And Tate was ashamed of himself for thinking he wasn't for a moment. 

He just did what anybody else would do, and he couldn’t really save her anyway. It didn't make him a hero. It just made him the unlucky guy who found her. 

"If only I would get there earlier." Will said and shocked his head in disappointment and regret. 

"It wasn't your fault, Will." Poppy's hand caressed his hand. It went higher and higher, reaching his neck-

Will took a step back. 

"I should have known something was up when she didn't show up to do the project. Tamara was never one to bail." 

"Even her roommate thought she was with her boyfriend. You couldn't have known!" one of Will's friends insisted. 

Will nodded at them all, but it didn't look like he believed them. 

"I'm just trying to save lives. I mean, this is why I'm here. I've seen to much death anyway." He mumbled. 

Tate had no idea what he was talking about, and for the looks of his friends, neither did them. Tate wondered if Will was in accident or something, but damn thinking about it just made Will more of a saint in an annoying way. 

They all stood in the park watching as the paramedics took a stretcher out, Tamara's body covered in white shit that hided her.

They moved her into the ambulance and drove away, disappearing in the traffic. 

*** 

Tate heard that no longer after that, the police came to interview Will for their investigation. Soon, everybody heard how Will Solace did everything in his power to save poor Tamara but in no avail. 

Tate tried to look about him online and see what he was talking about when he said he's seen to much death, but the guy was a blank sheet. There was nothing about him. 

A few days later, they all stood in Tamara's funeral. Her crying parents hugged Will as he stood immobile with white faces. If Tate wasn't paying so attention to his surroundings, he would have probably missed the young guy standing far away and watching them. 

Dark hair and white skin, wearing all black and his hoodie hided most of his face. If not for thinking he was ridiculous for watching to many movies, the guy looked to Tate super suspicious. 

But then the funeral was over, and Will walked over to him like it was any other day. 

"You know she's in Elysium, right?" the dark-haired guy asked Will. 

"She should have been home, not there." 

"Will, everybody dies. You know that. I know that. There is nothing any of us could do." 

"Nico, please. save this from me. I came all the way here because I needed a break from it all, because I wanted a hint of normalcy." 

"I told you you'd be welcomed in New Rome." 

What the fuck? Tate thought to himself. New Rome? Elysium? Were these guys crazy?

"I'm not Roman-" 

"Neither am I. But Rayna and Frank are the last ones to mind-" 

"It won't be home like camp, Nico. Besides, your highness prince of darkness will miss my sunshine while I'm gone." Will chuckled. Nico guy rolled his eyes. 

"I already miss your sunshine when you're gone." 

*** 

Tate wasn't sure how to react to the conversation he heard at the funeral, so he kept it himself.

But then the causes of Tamara's death were published – she had a brain tumor that explained her headaches, and no one knew about – and life at campus started slowly and steadily get back to normal. 

A month later, no one still had the courage to remove the "We Love You, Tamara" signs of the walls, but people stopped talking about her death and just moved on. It was cruel, Tate thought, the world moved without her so fast, but it was life.

Tate moved on too, and wanted to invite Poppy on date, the only problem was – she was emotionally investigated in someone else – Will Solace in particular. 

Tate was willing to ignore the signs until one day he saw Poppy all over Will, and he wasn't sure if he imagined it or not, but then Will moved away from her like he didn't want her to touch him. 

Poppy was ignorant to the signs, and Tate was annoyed that Will was still the guy that better, he decided to give Poppy a push that will make her realize for once and for all that Will was off limits, and then Tate can finally have her for his own. 

He found Lenna Green in the coffee shop right outside of the campus. Lenna was the gossip girl everyone knew – she knew everything and everyone, and she was right person to tell her lots of thing if people wanted it to become the new hot thing of the campus. She was studying journalism, from what Tate heard, and he thought it was nice to at least know that subject she took suited her. 

"Hi Lenna," Tate put a cup of coffee in her table. She sat with her laptop and was focused on her task, not even looking at him as she said, 

"Not interested." 

Tate pushed the coffee cup towered her and took a chair, sitting next to her. Lenna pulled her head up and sighed. 

"I said, I'm not interested." 

"I thought you're always interested in what people have to say." Tate told her. Lenna looked at him intensely, and then her black nailed hand reached for the cup of coffee. 

"I'm listening. It better be good." 

"Do you know Will Solace? he takes medicine course with me." Tate asked. 

Lenna scoffed. "Of course. I know everyone. He's the guy that found Tamara." 

"I think he has a boyfriend." 

Lenna shrugged. "So? Lots of people has a boyfriend. That's not interesting enough, man." She put down her cup. 

Tate sighed. 

"Lenna, I thought you knew everything about everyone." 

"I do." The girl stated without even blinking. 

"Okay. Tell me one thing you know about Will Solace." Tate challenged her. 

Lenna looked at him and thought about it for a moment. Then, she frowned. For three or four minutes, they sat at the table, Lenna thinking and Tate waiting. 

"I don't know anything about him." She finally admitted. 

"Well, here's for you, I'll tell you everything I've heard." 

Lenna smiled. "I'm listening." And the cup of coffee was again in her hands. 

*** 

For a week or so, nothing happened. Tate was starting to get really stressed about it, he even tried asking Poppy out anyway, but she said she can't because they're all going out to eat dinner – her and Will and some of their friends. Then, she invited him to join in too, but Tate felt that it was more out of politeness than anything else. 

Will then heard that they were talking about that dinner, and a happy smile spread on his face, and he said, "Yes, please join us. It'll be fun." And unlike Poppy's politeness, he looked like he really meant it.   
Tate felt stupid for liking Poppy when she wasn't even nice to him – hell, Will was nicer to him and didn't even like the guy, but Tate thought he couldn't force his feelings. 

He found Lenna sitting in the campus's library one late evening, her head aging buried in her laptop. 

"What the hell?" she jumped when he lightly touched her shoulders. 

"What the hell you yourself? Why didn't you tell anybody of what I told you?" he demanded. 

Lenna looked around and then pushed him to sit down next to her. 

"Why do you want you want me to tell people about it?" she asked. 

"I thought this what you do." Tate mocked her. 

Lenna gave him a look. 

"I'm not going to say anything without doing research through and through. If what you told me isn't true and you just want revenge or something, I'm not going to be part of it." She said sternly. 

"This isn't for revenge. A girl I like likes him and I'm just trying to show her it won't work out. Otherwise, she's not listening to me." Tate whispered. 

"Well, unlucky you. I can't find anything about Will Solace. Lucky you, I'm up for the challenge. He'll be my secret project. A practice for life." 

"Are you serious? Are you going to follow him around and all that stuff?" Tate asked, completely in shock. 

"How else will I get information about him?" Lenna asked as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. 

"I don't know! Instagram?" Tate asked. 

"I already checked. He doesn’t have one. He doesn’t have Snapchat too. Or Facebook. Or Twitter. Or anything really. I couldn't even find his phone number in the school records." Lenna shrugged. She made it look like it was all taken for granted, but Tate could see she was fuming about it. 

"You looked for his phone in the school records???" Tate whispered. He would have yelled if he could. Damn, was this girl crazy too? Maybe she and Will fit more than she knew. 

Tate didn't even know if it was true, but all he wanted was for Lenna to tell everyone he's gay. That girl was way more intense then he thought her to be. 

"I looked at all of his files." Lenna said without blinking.

"It's illegal." Tate said. He emphasized the 'illegal' part just to be sure she's got it's meaning. 

"Reporters go illegal all the time. You've got do what you've got to do. Anyway. The only thing I found about him in his record was that he lives with mom, no dad in the picture, no siblings. His school records are high enough for medicine, but that’s it." Lenna finished. 

Tate looked at her in shock. Then he asked: "So, you're not going to tell everyone he's gay?" 

Lenna looked like she must slap him. 

"I'm a pro, dude. Give me more time. I'm going to solve this Will Solace enigma." 

But Tate didn't have time. 

Every day that passed, Poppy was getting further away from his reach. He didn't want to say anything on social media, because then everybody will know it's him and Tate wasn't that stupid, but he knew he had to do something on his own because Lenna was out of the picture in his mind. 

She was way to crazy for him anyway. "Pro my ass." He whispered as he left the library that evening. 

But then, it was like god listened to him. 

Just as he went around the corner towered the boy's campus, he almost stumbled on Will and the dark-haired guy again. 

"Were you having nightmares again?" Tate heard Will ask the other guy. The guy, Nico, Tate remembered, was again wearing all black again. Tate thought he did look like the prince of darkness. 

"It's fine. Doesn't matter." Nico mumbled. They stood close – way to close for friends, Tate thought. He pulled out his phone and took a picture. Maybe he could be a reporter himself. 

Tate knew it was nasty, but he had to find proof for Lenna, and fast. 

"It does matter, Nico. Everything you've been through matters. And Tartus-" 

"Don't." Nico stopped Will middle sentence. Gees, Tate thought, these guys needed therapy or something, what were they talking about? Tate wondered if this was a play pretended. 

He heard it was getting quite popular lately. 

Will sighed and moved away from Nico. "You never let me in." 

Nico looked away from him, his face at the floor in a way the Tate couldn't see anything but blackness. Nico already fit around the darkness pretty well. They both stood quite for so long that Tate started thinking that he had nothing to wait for. 

But then, as if to make up for it, Nico said, "I went to talk to my father. About Bianca. But he wouldn't let me see her." 

Damn, this was over-stepping even for Tate. 

"I'm sorry Nico. I'm so sorry," and then Will kissed him. For real. Tate didn't waste any time standing there. He took the picture and ran back to the library. 

*** 

"Is this good enough proof?" Tate asked as he put the phone next to Lenna's laptop. She looked at the picture and then gawked at him. 

"How?" she asked. 

"I'm a pro." Tate couldn't resist throwing her words back at her. She looked took the phone and zoomed in on the couple. 

"They're right outside the library, you lucky bastard." She put the phone down and then mumbled, "Pro my ass." 

Tate felt a de-ja-vu for thinking about her just the same thing earlier but said nothing to her. 

"Is this enough?" he asked her again. 

Lenna smiled. "I'm still not done with Will Solace, but yea, it's enough for now." 

*** 

The next morning, Tate knew something was different because some people looked at Will in a weird look. And Poppy was no where to be found around him. Lenna didn't post the picture on social media like Tate thought she would, she had social morals according to her, and simply moved the news through big mouths of her friends. 

Most of Will's friends acted as if nothing was different, but Tate thought that apart of them looked hurt that he hasn't said anything to them at all. 

Will didn't seem to be bothered with the idea of people knowing, which made Tate think it was weird considering he hid the fact that he indeed has a boyfriend from pretty much everyone.

Tate found Poppy right outside of the girl's dorms the next morning, sitting on a bench with an open book. 

"Hey." He sat by her side. 

"Hey." She looked at Tate. "I'm studying." She said as if he couldn't see it himself. 

"I don't want to bother you; I was just wondering if you'd like us to go over for lunch together-" 

"I'm not really available for dates at the moment." She cut him before he could even finish. 

"Oh." Was all Tate could say. "It doesn’t have to be a date. Just friendly lunch…" he finally managed to mumble something out of his mouth. 

"I really liked someone, and apparently, he doesn't like me back, so if you'll excuse me, Tate. I'm trying to study." Poppy bit him. Tate wasn't used to it, considering Poppy was always nice. 

She always nice to Will. But being nice to him was too much for her. He went all the way to show her not to make a fool of herself falling in love with a gay guy, and she can't even help herself be nice to him. 

Looks like Tate was the one that made a fool of himself at the end. He left Poppy alone on the bench and vowed to never speak to her again. 

After his class, Tate saw Will saying goodbye to his prince of darkness boyfriend, and when he saw Tate, he smiled at him. 

"What's up, Tate?" Will was always so nice. Damn Will Solace. 

"Everything's cool." Tate smiled at him. He lied, but Will didn't have to know it. 

"Sweet. How was the test?" Will asked. 

"Great for me. You?" Tate asked back. Gees he needed to find a way to get out of this conversation. All politeness and nothing else. 

"It was great for me too." Will said with a true smile on his face. 

"Oh. I couldn't help but hear, what everyone's talking about… I'm surprised you could focus; I know I wouldn't be able to." Tate couldn't resist.

Will shrugged his shoulders. "I didn't say anything about being gay because I didn't think it's anyone's business. But I didn't exactly hide it too. Anyway, I'm actually glad people know it. Guess I should have told my friends in the first place and spare the embarrassment with Poppy. Wasn't right on her. I hope you get along with her. I know you like her." Will smiled and walked away. 

Tate couldn't help but think he made a fool of himself twice the same day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please don't take any offenses from this chapter. it's just the characters, and I don't intend on hurting anyone's feelings. Enjoy and let me know if you want more :)


	5. Martha

Martha usually wasn't one to have huge discovering or the light shown in her path like in old movies, but she imagined this is exactly what happened when she woke up one random Sunday morning and it hit her – she was completely and utterly in love with Frank Zhang. 

it wasn't until she started working in the Chinese restaurant that it happened. 

Frank came over one day, all big and muscles, kind of looking like a mafia bully really, and at first, she feared him. She really was, she couldn't help herself. He was a big guy. Too big in her opinion. 

But then he gave her a shy smile, looking a little bit embarrassed, and asked very politely, for two portions of chicken and rice. The way he moved almost looked like the guy himself was still in shock of his own size, like he didn't know how to eat it himself.

And Martha thought, my god, cute and hot. 

But she didn't pay it much of attention. Soon, he was gone, and she was sure she would never see him again. 

But then Frank stopped by a few days later, asking her to recommend him, "What do you think is the best here?" with his shy smile and a hand scratching behind his head. 

And before she even noticed it happening, Martha started waiting for the random day that Frank would show up again. Always polite, always shy. Never talking much about himself, but always asking about her: how is she doing? How is she feeling? At first Martha was sure it was only out of politeness, but can a person be always polite? Maybe there was more into it… 

The only problem was, Frank never stayed to sit. He always took his portion of food and went on his way. Nevertheless, every time he showed up Marta could feel a small smile on her face. 

So, it hit her big time when she woke up one Sunday, got herself a really good coffee from the expensive machine her mom bought her for her birthday, sat on the sofa with the sun kissing her hair and thinking about the fact that she really needed to start studying for a test – all things in which had absolutely nothing with Frank. 

But then he was at the side of her mind, hiding. And it hit her right there – she was in love with him. She was in love with Frank Zhang without even knowing him. 

God, her brother Ross called her stupid all the time – said she impulsive and dumb, but brothers say this kind of stuff to each other all the time. Still, she felt at that moment as if there was no one in the entire world smarter than Ross. 

She was impulsive and dumb. Sure, Frank was stopping at the restaurant from time to time, mostly once a week for six months already, but she didn't even know the guy. How could she be in love with him? 

This wasn't just a teenage crush. She had teenage crushes before, and she knew this wasn't it. No, this was something else. She kept waiting for him to show up every single day she was at work. She kept thinking about every day she was at work. And every day when she wasn't. And she had butterflies in her belly when he did. 

That Sunday, she decided she had to be brave. 

***

It was the next Thursday, in the late night, when Frank showed up in the restaurant. He wore a black t-shirt with sort sleeves, and she could see his tattoo on his arms – did Martha ever mentioned she had a thing for guys with tattoos? No? Okay – and black jeans. Damn, if he had a gun hiding somewhere Martha wouldn't have been surprised. 

Frank gave her his sweet smile and ordered one of his usual and a new meal as well. 

"Why won't you sit tonight? You never do." Martha offered. She hoped it sounded casual, but she wasn't sure. 

"I can't sit. Sorry. Maybe another time." Frank's face made her believe that he really was sorry. The guy's emotions were always shown on his face. Open book. 

Martha shrugged her shoulders as if it was okay. "Well, try something new for once, won't you?" 

Frank's sweet smile came back to his face. 

"Sorry, I don't have much time anyway. Lots of work. This is my only time for dinner with- anyway, thanks for the offer." Frank said quickly when his order arrived. 

Martha smiled at him. "Sure thing. You're welcome to stay any time." And then she regretted saying it. Of course, he was welcomed to stay – this is a restaurant and he's a costumer! 

Stupid Martha. 

But if Frank noticed something about her cheeks turning red, he didn't say anything. 

Martha watched him as he walked out of the restaurant. 

"Ohhh, someone has a crush. Lovie-Dovie aren't we today?" Martha heard the taunting voice of her co-worker Mike. 

"I was just being nice to him, like I am to all the costumers." She denied his accusations.

"Sure thing. You, Martha, the nicest girl in the world, who offers all the customers to stay and sit! What would our precious little restaurant do without you?" Mike goaded her. 

"Very mature, Mike." Was the only thing Martha found herself being able to say to him in return. Now, she was never good at the whole bickering thing. When she was in high school, and the major queen of the class always said mean things to her, Martha never knew what to answer. She would have thought of million sharp, witty, things she could say just five minutes later. But it didn't matter anymore, because she thought of it five minutes too late. 

Until one day she just had enough and punched the girl in her face. Maybe she should just punch Mike too. Martha shock her head as if to shake the thought out of her. Hey, if she punched Mike, he would only think he was right anyway.

"Just ask him out, Gees. Are you one of those girls who expect a guy to ask them out but never do it themselves?" Mike surprised her. 

"What? A. No. B. this is none of your business even if I was and C., I don't have a crush on him I was just being nice." Martha told him. 

Mike shut his mouth for only one minute. "You're a terrible liar." Will this guy won't shut up? 

"His name's Frank, Frank something I don't remember-" 

"Zhang." Martha offered. 

"Ah! I knew it. You never remember names of costumers, which means, you do have a crush on him. Martha and Frank sitting on a tree-" Mike started singing in a loud voice that filled the now empty restaurant. 

"Shut up, Mike." Martha mumbled under her breath. She decided to ignore him and start fixing the tables for closing, leaving him alone behind the counter. She was pretty sure she saw him smirk, but he hid his face fast enough for to just wonder. 

She did have a crush on Frank. And this was none of Mike's business! The nerve that guy had! Martha's hand hurt from cleaning the tables so strongly when she was angry. That Mike ass is going to regret it. 

After she gets Frank to go on a date with her. 

Then he will get it. 

*** 

The next time Frank showed up at the restaurant, Martha wasn't working. She was studying, and her brother Ross came by to stay with her and spend some time with her before he had to go back to his wife and baby – but Mike was kind enough to call Martha and let her know her "High school crush just arrived." 

Martha, who put her phone on speaker so she could keep her head buried in her notebook was probably sure she has never been redder. 

It didn't have to do with the fact that she liked Frank – she got over that long time ago in that particular Sunday. Yea, she liked Frank, sue her. But it did have to do with the fact that her brother Ross just lazily on the couch and then burst laughing hearing that. 

As if he wasn't in love over the heals for his wife. That woman spun him on her fingers without even blinking. He was no one to judge, really. 

"My little sister is in love? He taunted her with a big, goofy smile on her face. 

Martha decided she had to try and play it cool with him. "Having a problem with that?" she lifted a brow at him. 

"You have to work on your acting skills, Martha. I can still see the blush on your cheeks." Ross laughed. 

"Are you enjoying this???" Martha asked. 

"Hell yea!" Ross laughed again. 

Martha looked at the clock on her wall. "Yea, well, I sure am going to enjoy the look on your face when I tell Jody you forgot Lucy's kindergarten ends up in four." Ross's smile disappeared from his face. 

Oh, this was priceless. "You still have ten more minutes." She nudged his shoulder when her brother completely froze in his spot. 

"Crap!" he yelled, grabbed his coat and was out of her apartment in less than a minute. 

*** 

It was only two weeks later when Martha was working again, and Frank showed up. 

This time, it was late noon, and Martha was totally not in the mood – she hasn't slept the entire night because she had to study, and all she wanted was to take a god damn shower. She probably looked awful too. 

But somehow it still felt fine, because Frank looked worn out just like her. He came to the counter and sighed out his usual meals. 

"You're usual coming right up." Martha wrote down his meals and put the note on kitchen window so Mike could see it. 

Behind Frank, a small dark girl opened the fridge and got out two bottles of water. 

"So, how are you doing? I remember you said you have lots work." Martha told Frank. She felt a little bit insecure talking to all the sudden, which was ridiculous because she talked to him all the time when he came around. 

"Works been… keeping me on edge I guess." Frank gave her his sweet smile. Martha nodded at him. 

"Okay, well, will you stay and sit today?" she asked him. She hoped it sounded as casual as she tried to make it out to be. Frank shock his head. 

"It's my only time for dinner..." The girl from behind Frank moved towards them. Her curls jumped as she put the bottles on the counter that was slightly too high for her. 

"Well, anyway, if work keeps you too stressed, we could always grab a cup of coffee and relax." Martha spilled her words fast before she could regret it. 

"What?" the girl next to Frank asked. Her voice was demanding as answer, and Frank, who always looked so intimidating, well, his face reminded Martha of deer caught in headlines. 

"Oh, I'm sorry. Do you want to pay?" Martha asked her. 

The girl looked at Martha, and then looked at Frank. "Frank, was this girl just asking you out?" 

Oh. 

"I guess. But Haze, you know what my answer would be." Frank scratched behind his head, and Martha realized he did every time he was nervous. 

The girl, Haze, shocked her head. "Did you go on a date with her?" she asked. 

Frank looked hurt. He sighed and closed his eyes. "Hazel, would you honestly think I would do such a thing??" 

Hazel's eyes turned to the floor. "No…"

Frank looked at her, suddenly with a smile on his face. "Hazel Levesque, are you jealous?" 

Hazel snorted. "No." but her face was insecure. Martha just stood staring at them. Farther away in her mind, she was pretty sure that their food, that must have been already out, gotten cold. All this time Frank showed up, and she never had the decency to think that he might have a girlfriend. And he did always take two meals and not just one. 

And it was his only time for dinner, with his girlfriend. 

Dear god, Martha has never felt more stupid than in this exact moment. 

Real smooth, Martha, real smooth. 

But Frank was always shy and sweet, could anyone really blame her for not thinking about the possibility. Unlike his looks, Frank was just a cute nerd. Maybe Frank was just really hungry all the time. He was after all, a big guy. 

Martha blinked. She managed to get out of her trance and got their food from the kitchen counter. 

"There you go, your food." She coughed a little bit, her cheeks burning red. 

Frank took the bag with the boxes, a smile smeared all over his face. 

"What are you still smiling at?" his girlfriend, Hazel, asked him. 

"I'm smiling, because you, my Hazel, are jealous." 

"I am not jealous. I was just… making sure of things." 

"Right." He gave her goofy smile. She punched his arm lightly. 

"I'm going to hurt you, be careful Frank." But she didn't really mean it, Martha was sure. 

Frank laughed. "I am careful. You can be scary when you want too." 

"Shut up and give me my food already!" Hazel was now smiling and trying to reach the bag in which Frank held way too high for how. He put his payment on the table and said his goodbye to Martha with a sad smile on his face, and they both got out of the restaurant laughing. 

*** 

"So, did my little sister do it?" Ross asked Martha as he put Lucy, his four years old daughter on the carpet next to Martha. 

"Do what?" Lucy wondered. 

"Well, auntie Martha wanted to have a new friend, and she wanted to ask him if he'll be her friend." Ross explained his daughter. He was so different when he was with Lucy, sometimes Martha thought her brother and Lucy's father were two different people. 

But it made sort of sense, didn't it? 

"Why would he say no? everyone wants to have friends. Auntie Martha, if he said no, he's a meanie." Lucy put her small palm on Martha's knee, and then, as if she had her speech, completely zoned out, focused on the pieces of puzzle on the floor. 

"Well?" Ross asked Martha. 

Martha shrugged. "It didn't work out, I guess." Damn, saying that out loud hurt. Sure she didn't know Frank that much – the girlfriend incident being the perfect example, but still, she really liked the guy. 

And it did hurt. 

"Did he do something wrong? Do you want me to go punch him?" Ross asked. Martha laughed. Ross was no small guy by any means, but the thought of his trying to hit Frank was ridiculous. Like Iron man trying to hit the Hulk when he didn't even have his suit on. 

"No, Ross. It's really fine. I guess it just wasn't meant to be." She said to him. Ross sat by her side. They both were quite for a while, each to his thoughts. 

And then, Ross just had to ruin it and be the stupid brother all over again by smirking at her and saying, "Does that mean this is the third year in a row you're going to come to the Halloween Party in your college with a date?" 

Martha slapped him on his shoulder. 

Ross laughed. "Ohh, this is gold!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> enjoy, and let me know if you want more :) I'm also open for suggestions if you're having ideas because I'm running out of them.


	6. Dorian

Dorian always thought that Calypso's a weird name. like seriously, who calls their daughter Calypso? Before she arrived at their office, Dorian's never heard that name before. He decided to check it out and found out that Calypso was this chick stuck on island and doomed to fall in love. 

Great parents, he thought to himself that day, but he had to admit, Calypso was a beauty. She was something almost regal, like someone took her out of a fairy-tail and put her in his office for the great joy of everyone. 

When one of his co-workers, Jackie, had offered Calypso the easy alternative of Caly, Dorian was afraid the beautiful Calypso will lose her magic. She didn't. 

The girl was just – unreal in a painful way. And it's not only her outside beauty that caught his breath every time she walked into the room – she was elegant and sweet and smart. She was the woman of every man dreams, and he heard that coming from his boss. 

The greatest thing about her he had yet to encounter that time – but her magic hands were exposed to him when he once found himself getting angry at the coffee machine for not working, and Calypso doesn’t even drink coffee. 

But she laughed at him and then broke apart the machine only to reset it up again and suddenly it worked like new. 

"Thanks, Caly. You have magic hands." He whispered to the woman. 

"Thanks. I like doing this stuff. Office job isn't so much fun for me, anyway." She chuckled. 

"Really? Then we're lucky to have you." He said, and he was so close to her it hurt. 

"Yea, thanks, it's only temporary anyway. I'm hoping to get enough money so I can open an orchard and sell flowers and herbs. Always been my dream." Calypso said, and for once, Dorian was stunned. 

She acted if it was no big deal, and he didn’t even know about it. Later, he had found out it has never been a secret, and most of his women co-workers had already known it. And some of them were quite happy that the woman wasn’t planning on staying for a long term. 

Calypso did attract lots of jealous women (and men) with her super-beauty, super-brain thing of her. Lots of admirers too. Dorian once couldn't help himself from spilling the remains of his coffee on a guy that had been staring at her for too long. 

He really had it coming, Dorian had been telling himself all day later when the guy gave him looks as if he knew he had done it on purpose. 

But with all the drama that came around Calypso, Dorian couldn't let her leave the office. Really, they needed her there. They needed her super-beauty, super-brain and super-hands too, apparently.   
He found his boss sitting in his big office, bent over a pile of files. 

"Hi, Jonson. Need me for something?" his boss asked. He and his boss had been on good terms since he arrived, even sitting together at lunch time and chatting about everything and everything. 

Dorian knew this was the kind of conversations meant for lunch time, given it wasn't professional at all, but they needed privacy for this. 

At least, that’s he told himself so he could do this without chickening out. He closed the door behind him. His boss looked up with question in his eyes. 

"Did you know that Caly never planned on staying for the long-term?" he asked. His boss sighed. 

"Man, I thought you were going to say something important!" 

"It is important. Caly is asset to the company, isn't she?" Dorian asked. 

"An asset to your ass maybe. Look, I love the girl. She's incredible, and everyone love her. And I really don't want her to leave, but it's her choice. If you're in love with her, it's your problem, and please don't be all feels and shit like that here because it's inappropriate between co-workers." His boss said, and then wasted no time to come back to his files. 

"I'm not in love with her!" Dorian denied. Then to prove his words, he said "Did you know she fixed the coffee machine?" 

His boss lifted an eyebrow. "And that's what makes her an asset to the company?" 

"Well, no, but it surly helps, right?" Dorian asked.

His boss shocked his head if he couldn't believe what he heard. "D, I like you man, but get out. You're wasting my time here." He told Dorian. Dorian stood there in his boss's office, debating whether to say something else but opted on being quite and getting out. 

He might be in good terms with his boss, but he did not want to angry him. He had to find another way to keep Calypso around. 

*** 

A few days later, Dorian found Calypso in the small kitchen chatting with a few other workers. He said a nice hello to all of them and gave a polite smile, pretending that he was there on purpose of filling his coffee mug and it was completely random, and he did not go into the kitchen because he saw Calypso going that way. 

"My god, Natalie, you weren’t there when it happened. My husband would've probably been stuck in the middle of the road if Caly hadn't said anything about the engine. How did you know?" he herd Jackie ask her.

He saw Calypso shrug. Even when all she did was move her shoulders, he kind of still thought she looked like a princess. Was that weird? 

Probably. He should ignore it, Dorian thought. 

"I'm good with machines and fixing things, I guess. But not as good as Leo, just so you know. He's like mad. He's already working on opening his garage. I know it's going to be madness when he opens it. 

Has gold hands, that guy." Calypso blubbered. For a minute, Dorian was sure he saw a blush creeping on her cheeks, but it was a really hot day, so it must have been it. 

"Why, Natalie, I'm telling you, we're having a genius among us. Pity that you'll be leaving at the end of the month." Jackie said. 

Dorian almost dropped his cup of coffee. "Might be leaving. And don't say anything, it's not for sure," he heard Calypso say to her co-workers and then she looked at him and asked: "Hey, Dorian, are you okay? Do you need help?" he saw Calypso looking at him, offering her hand to help him. 

"No, it's cool. I'm clumsy today, I guess. Stupid cup," Dorian mumbled, kind of embarrassed. He saw both Jackie and Natalie's faces, who looked like they wouldn’t believe him even if he'd say the earth revolves around the sun. 

"Okay…" Calypso mumbled. Dorian took a couple of napkins and started cleaning the marble. As he hoped, Calypso took no time to help him, and to his astonishment, Natalie and Jackie took off. 

For a few moments, they both were quiet. Then, Dorian found himself talking again. 

"So, you're leaving?" he asked. He didn't mean to sound that way, but his voice was hoarse a little bit. 

"Well, I'm not sure. But I went to a job interview and they offer a generous salary. If I take it, I can work there for six month and get enough money for my orchard."

"Oh, but you know, if they know you want the job to be temporary, it's possible they won't want to take you." Dorian found himself saying. He couldn't help it, he just really hoped she'll give up and stay, even if it wasn't right. 

But he regretted it as he saw her face. 

"I told them that." She whispered, a sad look on her face. "Do you think it's lost?" 

"No, no, no, maybe they do want someone temporary. You can't know. I mean, maybe they'll be impressed enough to take anyway, and the try convince you to stay." Dorian mumbled. It was long shot, but if it made her feel any better…

"Why would anyone do that?" Calypso asked. Her face was like an open book and Dorian realized; she really didn't understand why anyone would do that.

If it were anyone else, Dorian was sure no one would actually do that, but this was – this was Calypso, with her super-beauty and super-hands.

"Well, I certainly would take you with the hope you'll stay." Dorian said quietly. He felt like this was the perfect moment to close the distance between them and kiss her, but then she smiled and said, "Thanks, Dorian!" and before he could even say anything, she dumped the napkins in the garbage and disappeared from the kitchen. 

*** 

If anything happened at all, Dorian had no idea not even a week later. He knew Calypso didn't see him as a close friend, but damn, he wanted to know. Maybe he was starting to have a little crush on the woman, but damn, could anyone blame him?

Dorian was sure half of the people in his office and in other floors too were in love with her. 

When she didn’t show up the next day, he was afraid that he right the other day in the kitchen, and they had taken her even knowing the fact she wanted to work only for six months. 

He found himself again in his boss's office, closing the door behind him and sitting on the spare chair. 

"What do you want Jonson? Is this about the files-" 

"No, I, I didn't know the Caly left." He accused his boss. He didn't know what he was accusing him of – the two were in good terms but they weren't friends under any circumstances. His boss didn't owe him anything, really. 

"What the hell are you talking about?" his boss asked. 

"Caly, she didn't show up for work today. She's left, took another job-" 

"Stop talking nonsense and wasting my time again, Dorian. I don't have time for this bullshit. What are you, sixteen? Get over your love life and do your job." His boss scolded him. 

Dorian just there, face all blushing with nothing to say. 

He completely forgot himself when Calypso was around. How did this happen to him? 

"Dorian? Jonson? Why are you still sitting here?" he heard his boss faintly. 

"I'm sorry sir, I think I kind of lost it." Dorian apologized. 

"Yea, for real. And I don't even understand why, considering that girl never left." 

"Sorry?" Dorian had to ask, just to make sure. 

"She never left. She didn't show up because she had something at home, personal." his boss didn't even look at Dorian as the words left his mouth, and Dorian was out of his office in no time. 

*** 

When he caught sight of Calypso, it had been another week that passed by. She was wearing a long, light pink dress that fit her body perfectly, and her hair was tight up in a bun, not a single hair loose to hide her face. 

And she looked like she was shining. Dorian barely had any time to catch up with her, but when he had spear time on his lunch break, he used it without a single doubt. 

"Hey," he caught her arm lightly, making sure she noticed him. 

"Hi, what's up?" Calypso asked him. She soon released her hand from his hold, and he was disappointed even though he knew this would happen. 

"You weren't here the whole week. Is everything okay?" 

"Oh, yea, everything's fine. My friends came by and had me a surprise. They decided it's my birthday." She laughed as if the notion of her birthday was odd, and she was the normal one. 

"Oh, well, happy birthday, Caly. We should totally celebrate! Bring a cake to the office and go for a nice dinner in a restaurant maybe." Dorian offered, hoping that he sounded like he wanted to take her celebrate her birthday and didn't just want to take her on a date. 

Was it bad that he wanted to use her birthday in order to get a date with her? Probably. He didn't care, which was just as awful. 

"Thanks, I appreciate it. But I don't have a birthday. My friends just decided I have one." She laughed. 

"So, when is your birthday?" Dorian asked, confused. 

"I just said, I don't have a birthday." Calypso said. she didn't look bothered by it all, and it just ticked Dorian in a weird way. 

"Everyone has a birthday, Caly." He said, his voice agitated. 

"I don't." she shrugged. 

"You… you don't have a birthday?" Dorian asked again, just to make sure he understood her right. If it was anyone else, Dorian would have been sure she's just trying to fool him and would be laughing his ass now for the lame way to do it. 

But looking into Calypso's eyes, she was serious, he was sure. 

"Nope," she popped the p, and he was about to say something, but then Jackie came by, handing Calypso her milkshake, giving Dorian a dirty look as the two went back into their floor. 

Who doesn't have a birthday? 

*** 

For the rest of the day, couldn't help himself but staring at Calypso, replaying their conversation again and again. 

She was trying to fool him, wasn't she? Or was she some mysterious woman who had no connection to her family? He did never hear her talking about family. 

All she ever talked was about this Leo. 

Leo, Leo, Leo. Who was this Leo? 

If he had any courage in him, Dorian would go and ask Natalie if she knew who this Leo was. He'd steer away from Jackie, who had already given him a dirty look for the day, but he wasn't brave enough to do it anyway.

When he left the office that day, it was a late evening, far too late from the time Calypso usually leaves home, so he was surprised when he saw her leaving in such a late hour. 

"I missed the whole week, got a lot of work on my desk in the meantime," she shrugged at his question when they both stood in the elevator.

"Right." Dorian said. they both were quiet for a while, silently watching the sign of switching floors. "Look, about earlier, I hope I didn't offend you, but my offer still stands. On going out for a dinner." 

Dorian said, his voice so quiet for a few moments he wasn't even sure she heard him. 

She gave him wry smile and said, "Thank you, Dorian. You know, for a long time, when I was young, I felt like I'm always the one who loves people, but they never love me back. It was awful. And more important, it took me a long time to find someone that made me see it wasn't always like that. So, no, you could never offend me."

He wanted to ask her; how could you ever think that? You, the beautiful Calypso, with super-brain and super-hand, anyone with a little bit of intelligence in his brain could have know that Calypso was far from being at the wrong side unrequited love. 

Or at least, she should have been.

But he said nothing, mostly because he didn't have enough time to say it but also because the moment had passed, and he didn't know how to say it. They both got out of the elevator, only for Dorian to see a guy waiting straight in front of it. 

Thin, with olive skin and brown sort-of curls, the guy almost looked like an elf. Almost. 

He broke into a huge smile as soon as his eyes landed on Calypso. 

"Why, hello, sunshine! I was afraid you're not coming home tonight." He said, a playful smile on his face. 

Dorian silently moved away from them, and they didn't even notice. He stopped his walk, unable to stop himself from staring at them. 

"It's only your fault, Leo, with your presumed birthdays that I missed too many days at work." Calypso taunted him. 

Leo. This was Leo? The one she always talked about? The two started walking to the exit of the building, passing through Dorian who already had been smart enough to pull out his phone and make it look like he wasn't listening.

At her words, Leo snorted. "You loved every part of it, admit it, I'm the best party planner ever." 

"Yea, well, you and coach hedge took it a little extreme with blowing things off, don't you think?" 

"I am the extremer of the extremes, so what, it's instead of blowing off the candles. You still enjoyed it. You enjoyed it even more when everyone went to bed and it was just the two of us-" 

"Shut up, gods, you're terrible!" Calypso pushed him playfully as they both started moving out from the exit of the building towards their car. 

"You love me anyway, sunshine," Leo nudged her shoulders. 

"I do." Dorian heard her say, and his heart broke into a million pieces. 

All this time, when she talked about this Leo, and Dorian refused to think of the possibility – 

He must have been stupid… 

"Oh, Dorian, have a nice weekend," he heard Calypso's voice faintly through his beating heart. 

"You too," he mumbled, but she already walked away, holding hands with her lover. 

*** 

Three weeks later, Dorian saw Calypso putting all her things in boxes. He managed to stay away from her those three weeks of his heart break but had no choice but to talk to her now that she was leaving. 

He said to her a faint goodbye, wishing her luck in her a new job (they did take her in the end, of course,) and walked away before his misery will make him say something unworthy of her. 

He watched as she walked away, the heavy box held in her hands like it was nothing, knowing he'd never Caly with her super-beauty, super-brain and super-hands to fix the coffee machine and Jackie's car. 

He could almost forget all about her even a year later, but he could never miss her face when we walked into the orchard that caught his attention, only to find out it was hers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you have any ideas, please give me more, pleaseeeee! I'm really running out of them. Thank you, and of course, enjoy :)


	7. Sarah

"Are you sure that asking your self-defenses teacher on a date is the right thing to do right now?" Sarah asked her friend Iris as the two sat at the coffee shop below her house. 

After her friend Iris had been attacked last month by a robber on the way home, she had signed up for self-defenses class, and since going she's been telling Sarah all about how much her teacher, Jason, was 'a super-hot cutie that was totally interested in her' and had been gashing and bubbling about her classes ever since. 

Sarah thought her friend was totally overreacting, so she decided to join a class and see for herself, and damn, one thing she was sure about – Jason indeed was a super-hot cutie, she just wasn't sure he was that interested in Iris. 

She's been trying to tell that to her friend for a while now, but to no avail.

It was known that when Iris sat her clutches on something, nothing was going to stop her until she got it. 

"Of course I'm sure, honey, it's totally worth the shot. He'll say yes, we'll go to a nice a restaurant, take a stroll in the park, the moonlight will shine on my face as we kiss-" 

"How can you be so sure the moonlight will shine on your face? What if you stand beneath a tree-" Sarah joked, but Iris sent her a dirty look. 

"Shut up, Sar, this is not funny." 

"If you say so. Listen. I really think you should at least wait until the sessions are over, Iris. It's would be super unprofessional for you two to go out when he's still your teacher." Sarah said. she meant what she said, she really thought it was unprofessional, but she also thought that maybe if Iris waited until the sessions are over, she'll also chill down with her crush on Jason, and see reason when Sarah told her for the thousand time she didn't think Jason was into her. 

"It's self-defenses class for adults, Sar, he's not my math teacher in high school." Iris said, then her face turned into a disgusted fixture as she probably remembered her real high-school math teacher. 

She had every right. Sarah herself remembered the creepy old guy was already wanted to puke her coffee. 

"And, I know you are only saying these things because your jealous. I didn't forget all of our last fights about the subject, Sarah." Iris sipped from her mug, her eyes glittering with hurt of Sarah's so-called betrayal. 

But between the two of them. Sarah was always the one to be more emotional than Iris, so she wasn't surprised to see Iris' face hardening just as fast, and all signs of the hurt Sarah knew she felt (for absolutely no reason), was gone. 

Sarah sighed. She had told Iris every signal time that she wasn't interested in Jason – he was hot, and cute, but honestly, Sarah wasn't yet over her ex (even if she'd never admit it), but trying telling Iris that she only wished her the best fell on deaf ears when it came to Jason Grace. 

So, she hasn't said anything, content on losing a battle she never had chance winning. 

"You let me know how the date go, okay?" Sarah finally said. 

Looking surprised, but not hurt, Iris nodded. 

*** 

The next evening, Sarah found herself going again to self-defenses class. She had no idea why, she took one lesson to see what Iris was gashing about all day and then dropped it – she wasn't really into it, but for some reason, Sarah found herself going to class again after almost three weeks of not coming. 

Jason was already there and some of the students to, but Iris was no where in sight. 

Jason was – body builder, blond hair, square jaw, blue eyes, cute smile, Sarah understood why all the girls in class were gaping at him ninety percent of the time. She couldn't say she was immune to him herself. 

He gave her a nice smile when she entered. 

"Hi, you're new?" 

"Actually, I hope it's okay, but I already came here once to give it a try and then dropped it, but I decided I want to try again. I'm not used to giving up so easily. So, would it be a problem if I joined? I mean, I get if it was because I already came to try once, and it's totally okay if you say I can't come without paying-" 

"Cool, I wouldn’t mind. I appreciate being persistent. But that would be the last time I could allow this." Jason stopped her. 

He smiled at Sarah; his words genuine. 

Sarah let out a breath she had no idea she was holding. "Thanks." 

She went into the studio, getting herself a nice spot in the back where she wouldn't bother anyone or be in center of attention, and waited as other students – all girls by the way – was this a class for women only? She didn't remember reading it was anywhere. 

When Iris went in, her eyes found Sarah in a matter of minutes. Fire burning through them, she walked to Sarah in five big steps.

"What are you doing here, Sar?" the anger and jealousy (?) were evident in her voice. 

"I don’t really know, Iris. Maybe I'm here to make sure your okay." 

"Right. Stop playing this dirty game, Sarah, I don't have the power to handle it anymore, I'm sick of it. I don't care what you're going to say, Jason's mine." Iris whispered. Her whispered though was nothing like quiet. Iris' anger burned through every word she said, and Sarah knew she was avoiding yelling at her because Jason was just a few steps away. 

"Sure, he's all yours, if he wants you. I'm just here in case something goes wrong." Sarah moved away from Iris, who apparently didn't seem to want to move and get her own spot. 

But Iris just moved with her. "In case something goes wrong and then you can leap on the pieces like a bird eating remnants and try yourself???" 

"No," Sarah said slowly, emphasizing the syllables. "In case he says no, and then your hearts broken, I'll be here to comfort you. Or kick his ass, but I don't think I'll be very good at considering he's the teacher and you won't even move so I could actually learn something."

That seemed to shut Iris' mouth, and she moved away slowly from Sarah, face still very angry. At least she didn't say anything, because else Sarah would totally flip. 

Just in time, it seemed as if the studio got full and Jason closed the door and moved himself to the front of the class. 

"Hey guys, I hope you all had a very good weekend, is everyone ready to start?" he asked. His eyes moved between each girl, waiting to see if there's anyone who for some reason wouldn't want to participate class. 

Everyone nodded, way to excitedly, Sarah had to admit. 

"Cool, we're going to do today some flips, so I need you to get into couples. As I always say, I think it's important to switch couple every once in a while, so you don't always work with the same girl. It's good to experience different kinds of people every time." 

The girls looked at each other and started dividing. If Sarah thought Iris will give her the courtesy of working together like they did the last time Sara came, she was wrong. Iris didn't even look at her as she went to stand next to brunette girl who could almost be her clone. 

Gees, where did that girl came from? For a one funny moment, Sarah thought the girl could be Iris's long-lost sister like in those drama movies, or on a totally different genre, a murderous clone that came to take her place on the earth. 

"Okay, so we seemed to be at odd numbers," Jason was suddenly close to Sarah, and she didn’t even remember him coming towards her, probably because she was too busy thinking about movies and clones. 

"Oh?"

Jason shrugged. "Guess you're with me. I hope you don't mind if I'll demonstrate the excises on you? If you do, we can find someone else to pair with me, and you'll be working with another girl." Jason asked. 

Sarah looked at Iris. If looks could kill, Sarah must have been dead by now.

"No, that's okay. It's only for learning anyway." She told him and gave him a tight smile. 

"Cool," was the only word to leave Jason's mouth before he moved back to the front of the class with Sarah tagging behind him. Iris wasn't the only one to give her dirty look.

What was wrong with these girls, thinking they owned him? It was just a class, Gees. 

"Great, so let's start. What's your name by the way? I don't think you told me." Jason asked Sarah before she moved to stand next to him. 

"Sarah," she answered. Jason nodded at her. 

"I'm Jason by the way." 

"Good to know." As if she didn’t already. 

"Great, so Sarah, please stand with your profile to the rest of the girls. Okay, listen up everyone, if we want to put someone down to the floor, the easiest way is through the knees. You all remember how when you were kids, your friends used to hit you with their leg behind your knees, and you'd buckle a little bit?" 

Jason waited for an answer. After a few nods, he moves on. "Well, this is what we're going to do, but a lot harder. You put your hand on your opponent's shoulder, and then use your leg to him behind his knees. With your hand, you also push him down, and then-" 

Without a warning, Jason's leg hit behind Sara's knees. His pushed her down, and she wouldn't stand a chance even if angel of the lord came to save her at the exact same moment. She was down before she realized something even happened. 

"-your opponents' down." Jason completed his sentence.

"Now in real life, it's possible that your rival is going to be much stronger and bigger than you, so one of the most important things is to be at the element of surprise, and use all the strengths you've got.   
Obviously, if your attacker grabs you, you'll need to find a way to get away from his hold, and then it's only a matter of risk calculation whether you're better off staying and fighting, or if you must chance to make a run. I say, making a run is always better when you have the choice, so in my opinion, what we're learning today is only for a case you don't have a choice. Is everything I said and showed clear?" Jason finished with a question. 

He waited a little bit, but no one answered. Sarah started to get why all the girls were gaping at him. Not only the guy looked good, he was also very charismatic. 

"Does anyone want me to demonstrate again?" Jason kept asking, but the girls just kept gaping at him. 

"Cool, now try that on your own." 

*** 

Sarah didn't remember the last time she did something she knew will get her extra sore the next day, not even the last time she came to class. Maybe it was because last time she had worked with Iris, and now she got Jason himself, but damn, that guy didn't feel sorry for her. 

Which, she guessed was a good thing, considering it was his job. 

"So, Sarah, how class for you?" he asked when everyone we're packing their things. 

"Painful," Sarah joked. But then she said, "I'm really not into this stuff, I just don't know, I guess. It isn't really interesting to me as it should be, but I think it's important, so I don't know." 

"I get what you're saying. You don’t have to like it. You could try somewhere else, or different method. There's lots of different styles out there. You just need to find the one that suites you the most."   
"That’s actually a very good advice. I'm ashamed I didn't think about myself." Sarah told him. 

Jason smiled. "Take it from someone who did his service, well, in the military, and didn't really have the choice to diversify, there's a lot of things you could try out there."

"You went to the military? Cool! did you like it?" Sarah asked. And then she realized her mistake and quickly said, "Shit, I'm so sorry, didn't mean to pry. I think I'll just go." 

"That’s okay. I guess I liked more parts then the others. Anyway, I hope to see you next here too, but if you don't, that's okay too." He then moved out, and Sarah had barely managed to see Iris following him outside. 

She grabbed her things and got out of the studio. She was going to wait it out for Iris in the parking lot, but seeing as she moved so close to them, Sarah found herself unable to resist. 

She was starting to get the charm all the girls saw in Jason. But even if she thought she liked him. Sarah knew it would be hypocrite of her to decide she wants him too after going all that length to tell Iris it wasn't professional to date your teacher. 

And also, that he was obviously not interested in any of the girls in class. 

Maybe he was gay. It would be a shame of women's race indeed. 

"I was thinking," Sarah heard Iris say, "that maybe I should find a new instructor. I wanted to know what your opinion is about it." 

"Were the lessons not productive for you as you hoped? Because I have to say Iris, I think you're doing pretty good." 

"No, no, the lessons are great, you're great- my point is, I was hoping I could get to know you more, so I don't think-" 

"Are you asking me out on a date?" Jason stopped Iris for bubbling even more. Never in her life did Sarah see her friend blushing like that. 

She was almost as red as a tomato, like a nervous girl on eighth grade. 

"Yes?" Iris didn’t seem as secure as she was when she and Sarah sat at the coffee shop yesterday.

"Oh, okay, look, Iris, I'm flattered, really, but I already have a girlfriend. We've been together since the military. And besides, this is just a side job to get extra cash, and I'm going to have to move to Rome soon. Anyway, it doesn't really matter, because I have Piper. I'm sorry." 

For a moment, Iris just stood there, staring at him. "You have Piper?" 

"Yep," 

And as if it was on Que, a brunette, sort of Indian girl (she looked close to it, but Sarah wasn't sure, she could be anything, really) walked in. 

"Jason, my god, how long do you expect me to wait for you to get out? Until you freeze over and become a rug again?" 

Sarah had absolutely no idea what the girl was talking about, considering it impossible to freeze over and become a rug, but Jason seemed to understand. And have some kind of twisted humor sense. 

"Yea, that was not one of my best experiences anyway. I was just talking to one of my students. I'll see you next week, Iris?" Jason asked. He switched the subject of the conversation easily, but somehow, he still managed to sound sensitive when he talked to Iris. 

"Sure," she mumbled. 

"Great. Bye," Jason waved (it was awkward, really), and then joined hands with Piper, and the two left the building. Then, it was only Sarah and Iris left. 

*** 

The two left the building and walked to their cars in silence.

Just as they reached Iris' car, Sarah turned to face her. 

"I'm so sorry, Iris. I really am. And I shouldn't have bugged you on this so hard anyway. I crossed boundaries coming today." Sarah found herself apologizing. 

"I'm sorry too, Sar, I was totally a bitch to you thinking you want to steal my guy, and apparently, you were right. He just wasn't interested." Iris wiped a stray tear from her cheek. 

"I guess we both were bitches to each other." Sarah whispered. 

"Friends, then?" Iris asked, offering her pinky as they always did when they were little girls fighting over dolls, school and boys.

Sarah joined her pinky with Iris's. they both got pretty fucked that evening, and they both were not as supportive to each other as they should be. But they were friends, anyway, Sarah guessed. 

"Friends."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK, It;s going to be long, but please read this (I'm begging you). 
> 
> first of all, I'm so sorry for not updating for so long and making you think I was done with this work, because I'm not. I was just super busy going back to work (and I work a lot, so I don't have as much time as I used to when the Corona Virus started)  
> I still want to finish this right - with ten chapters, because all the characters deserve a chapter. I'm planning on doing Hazel, Leo and Nico.   
> if you guys are having ideas for things you want me to write about (could be any character, really), you can write about it in the comments and I promise to give it my best shot. 
> 
> Also, about the chapter itself - I'm totally denying the fact that Jason died in the original books. on another subject, I don't really do self-defense, so I apologize for not being an expert about it, I totally watched one episode about it on TV and this all that it's based on.   
> Jason talking about military experience, are actually his way of talking about his time in the Fifth Cohort and as a Praetor, mentions of Rome are meant to be taken as New Rome.


	8. Rafe

Witch was a funny word. 

It was also funny to think about how the world has turned on them no matter when. 

Once – they used to be dangerous witches, now – they were frauds. 

Most people didn't believe in witches these days, but Rafe always thought that in his opinion, it was a very grey area. 

As a descendant to a family of black people who used to live for years in the south, the woman in his family didn't do much in order to prove the world they weren't the witches they once called them.

He used to watch as his aunt, Darcy, who would read in her Tarot cards for all sorts of people, and could never understand how she knows what to tell them, but most of her costumers were eager to listen, and she turned out to be right about the things she said. 

The kids in Rafe's school used to call his aunt Darcy a liar and a fraud, but his aunt once told him that it didn't matter if the kids believed or not in the things she saw in her cards. It only mattered that her customers did. 

Did that mean that she actually saw some things in her Tarot cards or that she just told her costumers what she knew they wanted to hear? 

Rafe had no idea. 

Either than that, there was his grandmother Lilian and his mother Johanna, that Rafe watched in his childhood take a costumer after costumer and healed their pains with herbs. 

Witches or alternative medicine? 

Rafe had no idea. 

His mother had called him Rafael after the angel that heals, thinking he too, will keep on the family business, but Rafe didn't think he was so gifted with herbs. 

Some moments, when he watched the women in his family carefully weigh their ability to see in the cards or to heal the pains, Rafe thought that maybe the old villagers weren't so wrong to call his ancestors witches. 

But really just most of the time Rafe was busy in his business of school, and sports and friends, later college and work, that he used to just forget how odd his family was. 

It were moments like his first meeting with Hazel Levesque in coffee shop outside of his campus that he remembered his thoughts about witches and magic. 

There was just something about Hazel that turned his stomach upside down but in the good way. 

There was simply magic to her.

A lot of people could argue and say he just liked the girl, but Rafe saw there was more to her that meets the eye. 

Sure, she was pretty in her own unique way and that she was easy on the eye, and her shy smile and soft voice just added bonus. 

But when Rafe first met her at the coffee shop, it wasn't how she looked or talked that attracted him to her. 

Whether magic existed or not was up to debate for probably forever and will always be until someone found a way to prove something – but Rafe could see Hazel was weird. 

She was weird, in a good way. She reminded him his own family. She intrigued him.

His friends thought he was mad at first.

"Dude, she's probably still in high-school. She looks like she's fifteen." His friend Johnny said to him once when they were sitting in the same coffee shop with their laptops, all pretending to study but really not doing anything at all. 

"She isn't in high-school. Dude, there is no reason for her to be here if she's in high school. Besides, she told me she studies here." 

"Oh, yea? What does she study?" his other friend, Gale asked. Gale was a handsome guy – tall, brown-ish hair and blue eyes, and the guy had no problem with girls since The Hunger Games came out. 

The thing about Gale was, he judged everyone on everything, and sometimes Rafe had no idea what business he was doing being his friend. 

Like, speaks the guy that girls only want him for his name and his imagination to a fictional character with bad luck and even more terrible romance choices. 

At least, that’s what Rafe's sister, Angelica, told him about the book.

Rafe shrugged. 

"Don't know yet herself. She's just a Junior. Hasn't figured it out. Not even sure she wants to stay here. Said she had a great offer to study in Rome but wanted to try the traditional college before taking to last resort." 

"Wow, you guys talked a lot. Good luck with her in Rome. I'm sure she'll be out here in no time, this place sucks." Gale said, drinking in his coffee and then made a face. 

"Even the coffee's here not good." He mumbled. 

"Okay dude, chill, what's wrong you? Haven't got laid lately?" Johnny joked, but Gale looked like he was going to punch him in his face. 

"I get laid just fine." 

"Okay, man, chill then." Rafe said to him. Just as they were all about to sink in each to their laptop, Hazel herself stood in front of the table, her hair picked up in a cute bun over her head, a pen stuck in her overall's pocket. 

"Hey sorry to bother you, guys, Rafe, I remembered you once told me that your aunt's reading Tarot, I was hoping it's okay I'd jump by?" 

The three of them just stared at her. 

"Hum, yes, sure… I didn't, I didn't think you believed in this stuff- hum, yea sure, I could get you to her." Rafe mumbled. 

"Cool. When will that be possible?" there was a faint blush on her cheeks. 

"Will afternoon be good for you?" 

Hazel thought about it for a moment, but then nodded him. "Great. We'll meet here at four pm?" 

Rafe nodded at Hazel, who smiled and walked away. He then looked at his friends, still kind in shock. 

"That's not a date, dude." Johnny told him, his eyes still on the short girl. 

Rafe rolled his eyes. "I didn’t think it was." 

"Good. Wouldn't want your precious heart to break." 

"Shut up, asshole." 

"Other guys like my asshole." Johnny said with a smirk. Gale almost spilled his coffee from his mouth. 

"Oh man, I'd say fuck you, but you'll probably have a smart ass retort for that too." 

Johnny smiled. "Actually-" 

But Rafe stopped him even before he could start. "Dude, just don't. seriously, don't." 

Johnny shrugged. "Your loss."

But looking at Hazel leaving the coffee shop, Rafe somewhat doubted he ever lost anything. 

*** 

How can a guy tell for sure that his trip to his aunt with the girl he likes is not a date? You ask Rafe. 

Easy, Hazel haven't changed her clothes from earlier. Or her hair, or anything really. And there was still a coffee stain on the side of jeans. 

Not a date. 

But she gave him a warm smile as they entered his aunt's workshop, and Rafe hoped it was a start. 

Darcy's workshop was quite a thing, so Rafe wasn't really surprised to see Hazel's face when she looked around. 

The main room was divided into two parts – the right side was mainly a sitting room, for costumers that are waiting for their meeting. Comfortable, colorful chairs are lined next to the wall, and a bunch of magazines were scattered around. 

A few costumers gave them a look, but quickly turned to their business. 

The left side of the main room, though, that was main attraction. A simple flowery curtain was the only thing to separate this part from the sitting area, but it was redrawn, and from where they stood, the left side could be seen quite easy. 

Shelves after shelves, rows after rows, it was all filled with all kinds of herbs, creams, talismans and books lined in alphabetic order. It was wired and cool at the same time, and Rafe remembered more than one friend in childhood that asked to be taken to his aunts shop to see the quirky stuff in there. At least, those who didn't say Darcy was a fraud. 

"Cool place, ha?" 

"Totally. I mean, my mom's been doing this kind of stuff to before she died, but this is different. I like it." 

Okay, he didn’t expect that. 

"Oh my, I'm so sorry, I didn't know about your mother-" Rafe quickly tried to apologize. 

"That's okay. She was a real bitch anyway most of my childhood. I mean, I was sad when she died but… anyway it was a long time ago. So, don't worry about it. It's no big secret anyway. " Hazel shrugged. 

"I'm still sorry, I guess," Rafe wasn't really sure how to react anyway. What does a guy say to something like that? 

But it was enough for Hazel, because she smiled at him. "Thanks." 

The two sat quietly in the sitting area for only for a couple of minutes. A costumer went out from the backroom, Rafe's aunt following tightly behind him. 

"Oh, Rafe! Have you finally come to help out your old aunt? You know I'll never say no to a helping hand, but your mom will be disappointed that you won't help her-" 

"No, no, aunt Darcy, this is, well, my friend, Hazel. She asked me if I could bring her over, even though she didn’t have an appointment-" 

Hazel stood. 

"I'm so sorry, I didn't think there was a need. I'll be happy if we could just call one and I'll be on my way and not bother you." 

Darcy looked at her other costumers for a little bit. 

"Nonsense! I don’t have many costumers today anyway. We'll cram you in. Just come back in an hour or so and I'll have you." 

"Oh, thanks." Hazel smiled, her eyes shining. While Darcy entered back into the backroom with another costumer, Hazel turned to Rafe. 

"Thanks for bringing me over, though, you don't have to wait with me if you have stuff to do." 

Rafe shrugged. "I don’t mind." 

"Are you sure?" 

"It's really okay. Is there anything in particular you want to do? I mean, we could go and have coffee if you'd like or something…" Rafe really hoped he was blushing. 

He really, really, really hoped. 

"I was actually hoping to go over to the library, I think I need some books for my studies, if you don't mind." 

Oh. 

Library. Well, Rafe guessed it was an option too, after all. 

Spending time with Hazel in the library was equal to a date? People do dates in the library all the time, 

Right? 

*** 

As Rafe expected, an hour in the library with Hazel was not a date. They walked twenty minutes to the library in almost complete silence, except for the occasional complaining over a professor or two, reached out, Hazel grabbed a bunch of books, and then they walked twenty minutes back into Darcy's workshop in another almost complete silence. 

Darcy took in Hazel with her after ten minutes or so. Rafe thought he should give her privacy, and he was probably a douche by doing so, but he took a stand close to the door, to be able to listen to their conversation. 

"Hi, sweetheart. Remind me your name again?" his aunt asked. 

"Hazel." 

"Great. I'm Darcy. How can I help you?" 

"I have a theoretical question or two that I've been thinking about for a while now and have been looking for an answer, but I just keep come up empty handed. I was hoping, if you really are a Tarot reader, that you could give me some advice." 

"Well, sweetheart, at least you don't want me to summon your late great-grandfather's ghost. I've had my fare share with those today already." 

"Oh, don't worry, I'm not into being in touch with the dead, been there, done that, I like the living just fine." Rafe did not expect that kind of an answer, honestly. 

Apparently, neither did his aunt.

After a minute of silence, she finally said, "Okay sweetheart, I'm just saying, as long as it's on advice level, it would be 40 box, anything else is extra." 

Hazel didn’t give a verbal answer to that, but Rafe thought she probably agreed. 

"OK, ask me out. I'm listening. Is it about school or money-" 

"Let's say, an old annoying witch is giving me hell lately, and I want her to piss off, because I'm busy, but I can't just tell her to piss off because she's super important and if I annoy her I'll probably die, and then my father will be angry with me." 

"Witch you say? How old?" 

What? Rafe had no idea what was going on. 

"Really old." 

"Who did you say you were again?" his aunt asked. Rafe thought she was as confused at him at the moment. 

"Hazel. Hazel Levesque." 

"And how exactly do you think I could help you?" 

"You're a witch too. Maybe you know some tricks I still don't. I'm young. I still learn." 

"I read in Tarot cards. It doesn't mean I'm a witch." 

"But you are. I know that. You know that. Don't you feel the same thing about me?"

Okay. Rafe was now seriously debating whether he should step away or closer. He felt the Hazel was like his family when they first met, but now he thought, that maybe she was more. 

He wasn't sure if he should be freaked out or not. He probably should. 

"Well, I do know a cloaking spell. You can you use something's called the mist-"

"Won't work." Hazel interrupted. 

"You're Greek?" 

Hazel Levesque definitely didn't sound a Greek name to Rafe. Why would his aunt think Hazel was Greek? 

"I'm Roman. Does that really make a difference, though? I don't think it'll work" 

Also, what was his aunt talking about mist and cloaking spells? She read Tarots, sure but had she finally gone completely mad? 

"Well, I also know another spell, but it's more complicated. It'll cost extra." 

"I'll pay," 

And then, Rafe thought he knew what was going to happen, and indeed he was right. His aunt Darcy moved Hazel to another room where they will have more privacy, where Darcy gives her VIP consultation to her costumers and Rafe wouldn't be able to hear a thing. 

He thought that was better. 

They were probably all nuts anyway. 

*** 

When Hazel finally got out, it was almost an hour later. A bunch of angry costumers already waiting to get inside after her, considering she's caused a late in the line. 

"Oh my God, Rafe, you didn’t have to wait!" she said when she saw him. 

"Yea, well, I didn't think it'll take so long. But no biggie, it's okay. How did it go?"

"It was just fine. Gods, I'm so sorry you waited, I didn’t even think about it. I'll totally make that up to you." She said. 

She also said, Gods, as in plural. Rafe didn't even think she noticed. 

And also, he wasn't really sure he still wanted to date with her. She was kind of nuts, he thought to himself.

It also meant that either his aunt was just as nuts, or simply just really willing to cooperate with a client for money. He didn't even know what was worth. 

Sometimes Rafe thought too his aunt was a fraud, but he never believed it was that bad. Or that she was crazy too? 

"Don't worry about it, really." He said to Hazel. 

"No, Rafe, it's not cool. I'll make it up to you. Well, not toady because I need to meet up with my boyfriend, but someday." 

Wait, what? 

Boyfriend? 

When did she ever say she had a boyfriend? 

He brought her to his aunt because he wanted her to give him a chance! 

But she's probably nuts thinking she's witch and talking about bring Roman and using cloaking spells. 

And Rafe still likes her anyway. 

Great. He likes crazy girls. Super. Also, he likes crazy girls who already have a boyfriend. Super-super. 

"Actually, it's fine. And I have to stay here anyway. Have fun with your boyfriend." Rafe said, the bitterness was dripping in his voice he was sure. 

Before she could answer, he left her in the sitting room and went into the backroom to talk to his aunt. 

His aunt was already having an elderly woman sitting in front of her, Darcy opening some cards Rafe didn't bother about.

"What are you doing, Rafe? Get out! You're interfering Mrs. Brown's privacy!" his aunt yelled. 

"Her privacy could wait. We need to talk."

"Your talk can wait, get out." His aunt bit, her voice stern. 

"No." 

"You are getting on my nerves, Rafe. Get out!" Darcy yelled again. 

When he didn't, his aunt side, apologizing to the woman, and then dragged Rafe behind her to the spare VIP room.

"What is wrong with you, Rafe??? Do you want me to lose my costumers???" she asked, her voice burning with anger. 

When she was angry, his aunt Darcy looked just like his mom, and that always made him feel weird ever since he was little boy. But not today. Today Rafe was angry too. 

"I heard some parts of your conversation with Hazel-" 

"You eavesdropped too! What the hell??? Rafe!"  
"It's not the point!" 

"The hell it isn't!" 

"You went along with all her crap! Talking about spells and witches. It's all crap! You took her money for nothing!" 

"How do you know? Haven't you been around your family enough to see the miracles we wield?" his aunt looked hurt that he'll make such assumptions of her, but she didn’t accuse him of anything. 

"Healing with herbs is alternative medicine. It isn't witchcraft. And reading Tarot cards isn't either." 

"So, you think, all these years, I tell people crap and take money for nothing? That I'm a fraud?" 

And, here's the accusation.

"I don't know anymore! I don't get it!" 

"You don't get a lot of things, Rafe. There's a lot to this world you can't see, and good for that. I would not wish for you to even see it. Hazel is probably going to die young. You are probably going to leave long. Better that way, Rafe, trust me. Sometimes, not knowing things is just fine." 

"what are you talking about? Why will she die young?" Rafe had to ask, suddenly worried. He did like Hazel, and even if she had a boyfriend, he didn't want her to die. 

His aunt sighed. "Forget I said that. She isn't going to die. She's strong I believe. But Rafe, I have to go back to Mrs. Brown. I'll see you tomorrow. Think about what I said. about not knowing things. Now get out." 

This time, he did. 

*** 

Rafe didn't hear anything about Hazel until a few days later. He was her outside of the girl's dorm rooms with a box in her hand and another one at her feet. An Asian looking guy held three more boxes in his hands, and he just walked away towards a car as Rafe approached her. 

"Hazel, what's up?" he asked her. 

"Oh, Rafe! I'm so sorry I didn't get to make it up to you for the day at your aunts. I'm moving out. Going back to Rome. Have some business there." Hazel gave Rafe her warm smile, her eyes apologizing too. 

"Oh, I didn't now that." 

"Yea, Frank's helping me out with all the stuff, but I really need to go. I just wanted to say thank you, for taking me to your aunt. I've spent some time you and I think you're a good guy. Good luck, Rafe."  
"You too," Rafe whispered to her. 

Hazel looked, beautiful big brown eyes, then picked up her last boxes and walked away. In the distance, Rafe heard the Asian guy, Frank yelling, "Don't carry both of them together, Hazel! It's heavy! Hand it over." 

"It's fine, Frank, really!" 

But Frank still pulled out the boxes from hands, and then gave her kiss. 

Hazel didn't come back after she left. 

And a few month later, Rafe thought it was a good thing. Because no one mentioned witches and spells, and that was probably a good thing. 

At the end, everything came back to be the way it was before he took Hazel to his aunt. 

Rafe told himself he should probably invest in normal girls from on. 

Gale told Rafe he thinks so too, so he punched him in his face. 

It felt good. 

Things were just the way they were.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yessssss! Can't believe I found the time! Love Fridays! 
> 
> Not canon - the witch that annoying Hazel is totally made up and has no connection to the books whatsoever. 
> 
> any mentions of black people in the south has no intention of hurting anyone's feelings, and I'm sorry if i did. it's pure history. 
> 
> Enjoy, and let me know what you think :)


	9. Christian

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so first of all, I'm so sorry it took me soooooo long to post it. I was going to post it two weeks ago, but then had rough two weeks when my grandfather went into a difficult surgery and both my parents were in quarantine and I had to take care of him alone. That being said, he's better now so I finally had time to update. Also, I'm already working on my last chapter, so I hope to update it as soon as possible. 
> 
> I'm not so sure I like this chapter, I admit that Nico was and will always be one of the hardest characters for me to write, he's just an enigma for me ;). Say I put someone like Percy in a certain situation, I could expect how his behavior would be, and that's why he's so much easier to write for me than Nico, who surprises me 99.9 percent of the time. So, I hope I did him justice in this chapter, and I'm sorry if I didn't. 
> 
> On another note: THIS IS A WARNING: the main character in this chapter is a gay guy born to a very religious, racist and homophobic family. Note that I'm neither, I'm just addressing a situation a lot of people have to deal with. I have no intention to hurt anyone's feelings at all. 
> 
> Now you can enjoy :)

There was something in Nico di Angelo that threw Christian completely off course.

He wasn't ashamed to know that he felt attracted to the mysterious guy, but only when he was around some (two) of his friends. Christian knew he shouldn't though. He had a girlfriend (one that he liked a lot but didn't really love), and his family loved her. 

His friends, Rashid and Muhammad, were the only ones he felt could understand him, and the only ones who knew Christian actually liked Nico more than he liked Lauren. He knew his other friends wouldn't care at all that his gay, but they would care he has eyes for a guy while still dating Lauren, so Christian said nothing. 

He had no courage to break up with her, when his family loved her so much. 

The two were Muslim cousins who moved into his neighborhood during his high-school years, and even though he could never understand some of their rules – the Muslims don't eat pork and don't drink alcohol (their loss in his opinion), Christian found he had more in common with him than he first realized. 

The expectations the two had to stand up too reminded Christian of his own home, and soon the three became fast friends.

And the fact that his parents never liked that he brought them home during his high school days just made it even better. It was no surprise though – his parents didn't like anyone who wasn't a white Christian straight guy. Hence, his name. 

"Are you going to talk to him, Chris?" Rashid asked one day when he caught Christian looking at Nico's direction. 

"You shouldn't." Muhammad said. Unlike his cousin, Muhammad had moved to America when he was fourteen, and had a thick accent. His family was far more traditional too. 

Muhammad told Christian once, he wasn't against the fact that some men preferred men to women, but he thought – if your family expected something from you, you should look up to their expectations and not disappoint them. Rashid came from a traditional family too, but his family moved to America ten years earlier, so he was more open minded. His English was also fluent, and he admitted to Christian that Muhammad had harder time then him finding friends because of that.

"You should." Rashid said, and then turned to his cousin. "Lauren and he are already falling apart, his parents are the only ones who wouldn't notice it." 

Muhammad shrugged. The three looked to where Nico stood. 

In the sun, the other guy looked even paler than he usually does, he dark hair and clothes being the perfect contrast still. There was this kind of a mystery to Nico that made Christian want to sit down and crack the code, but Nico was always keeping mostly to himself, and it made Christian think the guy had been through some shit. 

He hadn't heard or seen anyone that could be Nico's family or friends since the beginning of their school year in community college, and Nico came from afar. 

On their first few days, Nico told Christian in a short, cryptic answer, that he needed some time to himself. Whatever that meant. 

Later on, he learned to get to know what he hoped was the real Nico through a project they worked on together in one of their shared classes. He was still the same quite serious guy, but then Christian also found the guy was a total geek, and a collector. He had an old collection of super rare cards since he was child, and as much as Nico tried to make it look like it didn't matter anymore, Christian could tell he couldn't help but be proud of it still. He thought it was cute. There were other things too – when he was excited, he always tried to keep his face natural, but his eyes shone. He was super smart, and determined, and brave (everyone knew he was gay and Christian thought it made Nico brave enough when he himself couldn't help saying those words to his parents). 

They had done some projects together, and with all things above, the first semester didn't even end and Christian already knew one thing for sure. He was totally in love with Nico di Angelo. 

*** 

On the weekends, Christian and his friends usually came back home. Christian had no idea where Nico was staying, but he never asked him if he wanted to come with. He knew how his parents would look at it. He'd say he was only being a good friend, but he knew his parents already had their suspicious. 

That's why he started dating Lauren. Well, he liked her, a lot. It wasn't really like he was using her. at first, he thought if he liked her, maybe dating with her enough time will be enough to make him love her and stop thinking about loving men. 

It didn't. 

But then Lauren told him she loved him, and the words (that he loves her too), just came out of his mouth without even meaning it. Christian's parents were so pleased. They liked Lauren. She was everything his sister Chelsea wasn't. They both were pretty, but Lauren, she had this beauty to her that even Christian knew she could model. The girl was skinny, tall, blond, with full lips and blue eyes. And she was far from stupid. More important, she was always nice and never bothered to argue. Christian's mom thought Lauren was "a good Christian girl." 

Hearing it made Christian want to hurl, but he never said anything to contradict his mother. How could he? She's his mom. The woman who raised him, gave him everything she had. She loved him, and he loved her back. His mom was a bitch, but he didn't want to lose her. 

His sister Chelsea was braver than he was. She never outright went against their parents, but the little things were more than Christian could muster up himself. The way she wore a too short skirt on a Friday night, the eye roll at dinner's blessings, the pretense of being sick (or having a period – the girl was never ashamed to admit it yelling around the house, and then Christian's father would turn all red from hearing his daughter talking of it like that, and his mom would gasp and tell Chelsea she was unladylike.) to get away from going to church. 

"So, Christian, how was your week? It's almost the end of the semester, right?" his mom asked him once on a dinner. 

Christian nodded. "Yea," 

"So, do you know what you're going to choose by now?" his mother pushed. Both she and his father were sure he was going to study business management so he could keep up with their family business, and his mom was now constantly trying to push him in talks about it to make Chelsea "see the light and choose the right path like her brother did" 

Next to him, Christian saw Chelsea roll her eyes. His parents saw it too but chose to ignore it. 

"Mom, will you please let me eat? I have things I need to do later, studying and stuff." Christian dodged the question. He learned a long time ago that the only way to make his mom shut up was to tell her he needed to study. That night though, it did nothing but put his sister in the crossfire instead. 

"See, Chelsea, you should take example from your brother. He knows what's good for him," 

"I know what's good for me just as much, mother," 

"Chelsea." His father warned his sister. While his father rarely took the opportunity to preach them, he always stood by his mother side when she preached them, and she did that a lot.

"Let's not fight tonight, alright," Christian's father surprised him. Chelsea seemed just as surprised. But then, she got over herself pretty quick. 

"I'll stop fighting you guys when you acknowledge not everyone wants to be like you. Chris, would you one bloody time say something on my side instead of always be quite? Aren't you tired with the way they look at your friends like there's something wrong with them?" 

"There's nothing wrong with Jo and Brady," his mom said. Chris had no idea whether she was playing stupid or bating Chelsea on purpose. Christian sighed. He could say to his mom that his sister didn't mean Jo and Brady, that they all knew she was talking of Muhammad and Rashid. He could get into the fight. 

But he didn't. 

It was easier that way, he kept telling himself.

Ignoring the silence, he kept eating. 

*** 

"Are you alright, Nico?" Christian saw Nico just when he arrived at his dorms at the early Monday morning and noted to himself to ask the other guy if he's alright – he looked all over the place. 

When he joined their shared class in the morning, Nico didn't look any better. 

"Yea," was all he got. 

Nico wasn't the kind of a guy to elaborate. Christian wasn't sure if he's okay with that, be he knew he couldn't pry. 

"Oh, well, you look like you had a rough night, so I just wanted to make sure you're okay," Christian pulled a notebook out of his bag and sat beside him. 

He hoped that the whole 'I'm busy having a conversation with you will cover up for the fact that I'm sitting next to you even though no one ever sits next to you' will work. Usually, no other student sat at the two sits closest to Nico. Christian had no idea if Nico was mostly alone because he wanted to or because people just preferred to stay away from him. Probably both. 

If Christian thought he'll get a better answer, he was wrong. He got nothing but a "Thanks," and then Nico's mouth hasn't opened again until the end of the class. At least he didn't tell Christian to move away from him. 

Most of the students gave him a look or two for sitting next to Nico but said nothing. Christian saw Lauren quirk an eyebrow to him. 

God, he had to break up with her. He's such a coward. During the day, all everyone talked about was the frat party on Friday, and Christian found himself sitting next to Nico in another class – history. Christian liked history when he was in high school, but he hated the fact the college made them take another history class in general studied. He found that stupid. 

"Are you going to go to the frat party?" he asked the other guy. 

Nico didn't even bother looking at him. "No." 

"You should. It'll be fun," Christian pushed. 

"I have places to be," Nico didn’t need to turn away from Christian for him to know the conversation was over. He just couldn't figure Nico out. 

Every time Christian had the option to get to know the guy, it was only because of them having done a project together or having sort of mutual friends. Nico didn’t really have any friends, not really.

Christian thought he could understand why most people avoided him. He just couldn't understand why he himself couldn't bring himself to avoid him too. Nico was far from ugly or anything like that, but he had this aura of a guy no one wants to mess with. 

"Uh, okay then, pity though." Christian muttered under his breath. 

Most of the time, it just seemed to be fruitless to try to talk to Nico. This time was just like any other time. 

Nico opened his mouth to say something – which made Christian re-think about being fruitless, but then the professor walked into the class, and Nico shut his mouth fast enough that no sound escaped at all. 

While the professor started talking, Christian found he couldn't listen to him at all. He was too busy looking at Nico, who looked out of place in their class, and his mind somewhere else.

Someone touched Christian shoulder. He turned to look. Muhammad gave him a knowing look. "Listen to the teacher," he whispered. That kind of a remark made Christian think of his dad. 

Was Christian that obvious? The look on Muhammad's face told him he was. 

Wonderful. 

He should be worried that Lauren will mouth him off, but he wasn't. he felt bad with himself he kept dating with the girl when it was already obvious to him that he's probably never going to like girls. They just didn't do it to him the way other guys did. The way Nico did. 

"Today we have a guest lecture on Greek mythology by the wonderful professor Harrington. It will not be part of the subjects you have to know to pass the course, but it will be part of the subjects you can choose for your end of semester project." The professor explained before making way for the other professor. 

Professor Harrington was an old man, with hair and thick glasses, short and chubby, and his skin was so white, Christian seriously thought he could be an albino. 

The man fixed his presentation on the big wall, and then started talking. "Well, as you know, the Greek people used to believe in many gods, goddesses, and all sorts of creatures and stories that made up to sum their religion. They believed every god or goddess oversaw something – could be anything, really - and together they all created the earth they knew. I'll start with the easy. You all know at least one of the twelve main gods, do you not?" 

Most of the students remained quiet, unsure if they should take a part in the class. One girl lifted her hand and said, "I know about the story of Persephone and Hades. He's the god of the underworld, I think." 

"It is true. He's one of the three main gods, his brothers are Zeus and Poseidon," Christian could swear he saw Nico fidgeting in his sit at the names of the two other gods. As if he felt uncomfortable thinking about them. Which was stupid, because why would he? Maybe Christian was just reading too much into things lately. It probably was it. 

"Does any of you know what Zeus and Poseidon responsible for?" the professor kept going. 

Some guy lifted his hand and said, "I think Zeus is the king of the gods or something, and Poseidon is the king of the seas and oceans," 

"You are correct," the professor said. "We also have the other main gods of Olympus, which are Hera and Demeter, Athena, Aphrodite – which I assume most of you can recognize as the goddess of love – Ares and Hephaestus, Hermes, Dionysus, Apollo and Artemis." 

"Per their names, they are responsible for family and marriage, crops and gardens, cleverness and tactics of war, love and beauty, war, fire and metalworking, messengers and thieves, parties and wine, sun and moon." 

None of the other students seemed to follow the professor. Too much information in one sentence, and Christian felt lost. 

"You forgot that Zeus is also the god of the sky and lightnings. Also, Apollo is the god of medicine and poetry in addition to being the god of the sun, and Artemis is also the goddess of the huntresses," 

The class turned quiet. Nico rarely spoke to anyone outside of class, and he surely didn't speak in class. And here he was, full geek mode, knowing some shit nobody in their cares about.

What surprised Christian more then anything was how Nico's voice turned chilly for speaking of Artemis, as if almost resented her for something. Christian blinked. 

Why would anyone resent an ancient goddess from thousands of years ago? Chris shook his head. He must have been imagining it. 

"You are correct." Harrington blinked, looking just as surprised. Recovering fast enough, the professor moved on to his next slide. 

"I'll be telling you now some of the most famous stories of the Greek mythology, and then I'll explain to you how each story had a lesson in it for it's people. Any questions before I start?"

No one raised their hands. 

The professor started talking. Nico stayed silent for the rest of the class, but Christian was far from the only one whose looks found. The other students were just as buffaloed by the guy. 

*** 

"So, how do you know so much about Greek mythology?" Christian caught up with Nico on the way out from the building after class. 

Truth was he didn't really care how Nico knew, he just used it as an excuse to make a conversation with him. 

Nico shrugged. He pulled his black hood on his head while stepping out to the sun. "Why do you care?" 

"I just want to know if you think it's easy enough to choose for the end of semester project," Christian lied quickly. 

"I guess it can be." Nico mumbled. 

"So, how do you know?" Christian asked again. Nico had a specialty of ending a conversation before he even started. 

"I used to collect cards of this stupid game when I was kid. My sister thought it was stupid, so I did it to annoy her." 

Wow. That was probably the longest conversation Christian has ever had with him. He called it progress. He thought Nico was cute when he talked of things like that. 

"Sounds about what a brother would do to annoy his sister. Is she studying here too?" Christian found himself asking. He hoped moving the conversation to his sister will make Nico keep talking. 

"She's dead." 

Okay. So, no. Bad idea, Jesus Christ. "Shit, I'm sorry." 

"Thanks." They both were quite for a moment. What do you say to a guy that just told you his sister was dead? Maybe that was why Nico kept himself away from the other students. He must have had hard time opening to people like that. His mom once told him that people who suffer from a hard loss sometimes have trauma enough to make them think that if they get close to other people, they might lose them too. Or maybe Nico was just naturally an introvert and Christian was reading too much into his behavior again. 

"I guess it's cool, that you know all these things," Christian finally muttered under his breath. 

Nico didn't answer. Christian had no idea why he had expected him too. 

"I suppose I'll see you in other classes?" he had to fill the silence somehow. Nico suddenly stopped walking and turned to Christian. 

"Why are you so nice to me all the time?" 

"I'm- I'm sorry? I'm not sure what you mean…" What was he supposed to answer? 

"I mean, exactly what I asked. Why are you nice to me?" 

"I don't know. Why not, I guess." Christian answered. Nico narrowed his eyes. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but then a car pulled in front of them and a blond, handsome guy got out of it. 

"Hey death boy!" the guy almost had Christian a heart attack. 

"Don't call him like that, that's rude. And insensitive," 

The blonde blinked. He looked at Christian, and then at Nico, who also blinked, surprised. 

The blonde turned to Nico. "Does it bother you? I won't call you like that ever again if it does." 

A small smile stretched over the other guy's face. Christian was pretty sure he'd never seen Nico smile the entire time of their schooling. 

"Will, what are you doing here?" he totally ignored the guy's – Will – question.

"Aren't you happy to see me?" Will, pouted. It seemed they had this understanding between them even if Nico didn't even bother to refer Will's question. Nico rolled his eyes as if he was amused. 

He. Rolled. His. Eyes. 

"You are, per my previous statements of the past, a significant annoyance. But you know I'm always happy to see you, sunshine." The two stood so close to each other, their noses touched each other. Their lips almost touched.

They were going to kiss, Christian understood suddenly. 

Then it hit Christian. 

All the times he thought he liked Nico and did nothing about because he was coward – Nico was like him, which meant, that if Christian wouldn't wait and bide his time like the stupid asshole he was, he might have stood a chance. 

Any person would be blind to see now it was too late. 

Those two were obviously dating. 

Christian felt pang of hurt in his chest. 

Nico turned to Christian again. as if reading his mind, the black-haired guy gave him this kind of a look Christian could almost read as a 'good luck'. He didn't say goodbye to him, but that was fine, because Nico barely said anything to anyone. 

Will, the boyfriend, gave him a subtle nod, the kind you get around when to guys reach to an understanding. Did they reach to an understanding? If so, Christian had no idea what kind of an understanding it was. 

The two walked to the car Will got out of, living Christian alone in the yard. 

For the rest of the day, Christian's thoughts went to his family. He had no idea what relations Nico has with own, and he never out-right went and said, "Hey guys, I'm gay," but then, he didn't really hide it when his boyfriend came around. 

Christian hoped he could be brave enough to do it himself. 

He found Lauren sitting on a bench with a few of her friends outside of the girls' dorms. 

She smiled at him. "Hey babe." 

"Hey." 

"What's up?" 

Christian looked at her friends, and then gestured to the path that led to the park. "Walk with me?"

Lauren smiled. Her smile was warm. She was always so good. Pulling her books to her bag and mumbling a quick "sure", she told her friends goodbye and joined him. 

"Everything okay?" she asked him once they were far enough from her friends and had privacy. 

Christian sighed. Letting the words come out of his mouth was scary and painful. He didn't want to hurt her. He also knew that breaking up with her would mark a new, much harder, start for him. 

His parents are going to freak. He had no idea how he would be able to deal with them, if they even would want to keep in touch with him. They were capable of it. 

He let the words flow out of his mouth despite his fears. 

"We have to break up."


End file.
